


The Kahani of Steven

by A_total_nerdy_clod



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, F/M, India, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Unrequited Love, inter racial love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:52:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 25,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23345725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_total_nerdy_clod/pseuds/A_total_nerdy_clod
Summary: Steven Universe is a sixteen year old travelling to India in his vacation. There he meets Kahani Maheshwaran, a fifteen years old girl.Kahani won't admit, but her life changed when she first bumped into that boy in the midst of the marketplace. And now, as it will take huge wanted and unwanted turns, she has to trust something she already uses to the fullest- her brain- and accept something else. Something dangerous. Her feelings. From her heart.
Relationships: Amethyst/Pearl (Steven Universe), Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe, Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe)
Comments: 68
Kudos: 93





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Added a Pearl/Amethyst tag coz they've started their scenes starting chapter 4. They aren't very evident now but will be even more later on. Till then enjoy your Connverse and soon to arrive Lapidot!! (And another major ship, but we'll talk about that later :) )

CHAPTER 1

Kahani Maheshwaran loved the outdoors. It gave her a strange, foreign sense of freedom and ecstasy. She loved staying on the soil, surrounded with the gifts nature has to give that people humanity tends to overlook. The scent of musk beneath her feet, the feel of fresh, condensed drops falling on her hair, the chirping of birds and crickets; it fills her with a joy unknown to any other. She wonders why people don’t come to enjoy the bliss, but remembers that the life of a common man and woman is filled with obligatory responsibilities. Responsibilities- the one of the things in her life that ties her legs and forbids her wings to flap open in its glory. There are of course, many other things which are heavier and have the capacity to pull her down more, because life just doesn’t like giving people a single moment of pure carefreeness, and hence she is brought down to planet Earth whenever she tries to just…live….her way.

Today she carried a semi-thick book of chemistry and a thin one of literature to ‘her spot’. It was not some place secret, beneath a certain bush, behind the trees and you’d have to climb them and jump off vines, no. (although, she would love that to happen, but no matter how much she tried, her short stature and skirt and long trees only meant for her to climb a fourth, or maximum, halfway that height. So, no discoveries until she’s older. Maybe.) ‘Her spot’ was a beneath small jasmine tree, with a wild berry shrub beside it. After some research she found that it was not poisonous, and provides for a wonderful treat in her mouth (too bad it doesn’t thrive as well in winters). It was the place where she was most concentrated, for there was less vegetation around and hence fewer wildernesses disturbed her, and also most inspired in. Her best works originated from there, though most of them were imaginary, for writing long ones down would really cramp her hand, overworked due to all the studies she devotes herself to.

Moving on, she had always excelled in chemistry, as well as the other branches of sciences. She was rather practical in nature and was always curious about, well, everything. And although literature could be her Achilles heel at times, it was endearing the way authors wrote story, and she tried her best to peek into their mind through their words, imagining what an inspirational world it would be in there. Alas, the long answers ruined it. When she was finally done, which was in about an hour, she walked towards her house. She really wanted to stay there and take in more of the ambience, but it was getting dark, and she didn’t want her parents to grow suspicious.

Taking the familiar roads towards home, she revelled in the chatter and sounds indigenous only to the Indian marketplace. There was always something so happening about them. Like rivers, they just never stopped to flow in their own merry ways. The lights of the stalls, the sounds of the vendors, singers, and the dancers, the scent of the street food, the differing personalities of every single person, it was a breathtaking sight. It was also very, very, crowded. People bumped into each other, sometimes even fell down in the middle of the pathway (it really disrupted the ongoing citizens, and Kahani hated that), but Kahani always used to somehow dodge them all. Well, most of them anyways, but the ones which did happen were nothing more than a little shove. Today, she encountered her first real crowded-area fall.

She was not to be blamed at the slightest. She knew, even the little pest knew it whose eyes were fixated on the map and ears blocked with what seemed like a really expensive set of headphones knew. She tried calling him moments before, telling him to slow down and look up before he got into trouble and bam! They bumped into each other. His leather boots stomped on her sandal clad ones, and she could fell the foot swelling when she tried to get up from the fall. The other person, a guy about her age, still seemed frazzled at the moment, and she took the opportunity to tell him off.

 _“Dikhta nahi kya! Maine tumhe kitni baar bolne ki koshish ki par tumne to kaan mein yeh,_ ” she grabbed his headphones “ _thoosa hua hai._ _Agar chalna nahi aata ho toh phir humare ko bhi na tang karo”_

The boy seemed to be confused at her words. His hands clasped together in a gesture he knew was used there

“Namaste” he spoke, a charming smile gracing his face. He tried to look as genuine as possible, having no idea what the girl in front of her had just spoken. She grumbled a few words angrily again, now pointing a finger towards him. He knew that she was accusing him for the fall- it could be heard in her tone- but he had no idea how to apologize and tell his present condition in words she might understand. He tried using gestures

“Me…” he pointed towards himself, “no…” he crossed his hands to show a cross, “speak” he repeatedly let all his hand flap open and, indicating a moving mouth, “Hindi” he knew she could understand that.

And he was correct. The girl was intelligent enough to pick on his actions. And luckily for her, she was a somewhat fluent in English. Although it was taught at her school as a compulsory subject, she also had a knack for polishing and improving her skills in said subject. Since a kid, she always wanted to travel, explore the unknowns, go far and beyond (yet stay intertwined with her roots, for it was hard for her to leave such colourful Indian cultures). She knew this language is the prime medium for conversations with strangers from other countries, and wanted to learn the Mother language such reasons. Including this one ahead.

“What I said was that I tried to warn you about hitting me, but you had these” she grabbed them again, for she was unsure what to call that. It certainly looked like a headphone, but it had no regular cords. “in your ears. If you don’t know simple ethics of walking in public places then at least don’t trouble us too” she sneered, hoping to shut him down.

“Sorry” he murmured, embarrassment evident on his features. _“Ma-af kar-ne_ ” he tried speaking in the most exotic accent he could, but he was still miles away from perfection. Kahani giggled at his attempt. She found it very cute. The boy joined in the light laughter.

“Hey,” she started, catching the other girl’s attention again, “do you know where this inn is. I came to roam and explore this place but lost my way. And no one understands me well enough” he added as an afterthought, “Wait, do you understand me?” he looked and her expectantly, hoping she did.

Her notorious side really wanted to play tricks with that guy before caving in, but there was something about his expression. So, pure, so innocent, so-magical, to say the least. His hair was a ruffled mess (and they looked soft. And boy did Kahani wanted to touch it, though that temptation only lingered for a split-second) And judging by his crumpled map, tired eyes and almost-broken demeanour, she decided to cave in. No one had ever had that affect to her before.

She peered into brownish sheet and looked at where he was pointing at. ‘Dove Inn’ was written in blue letters, and luckily for him, she knew the directions like the back of her hand

“Oh this place? It lies on my way home. It is very close to it. You should follow me”

The guy joined his hands in gratitude, even praising her for her ‘pure heart’ and ‘noble soul’. Kahani couldn’t help but play along. Soon both were caught in an improvised scene of queen and minister. Kahani hadn’t had that much fun since a long time. Once they were rather far from the marketplace and going towards the quieter paths, both went silent. Maybe Connie had not much ‘royal’ words left in her diction, maybe Steven wanted to stay quiet and bask in the sounds of grasshoppers and crickets, they didn’t know. The boy played with his hair and eventually, hesitantly asked-

“So, um, what’s your name?”

Kahani pondered over it. She was told not to talk to strangers, much less share your identity, especially at bleak nights. They said they could take advantage of you and kidnap you and all sorts of dangers. But again, something about him made her want to trust him. It was probably the way his eyes were sparkling with genuine anticipation, and that his voice was so, so soothing. She couldn’t let her guard down, though. She was a tough girl.

“Why do you want to know?”

“So that I can meet you again. I mean, someone I know should show me this place, rather than some stranger”

“Well, I have school during daytime”

“But not during evenings” 

“Have you ever been in school? If you have, maybe the words ‘homework’ will come to your mind”

“Not the whole evening. I’m sure you can spare some time for me”

“I have time limits. I can’t just jump out to play guide whenever you want me to”

“Okay then…” he trailed off, eyes now downcast. He looked down, as if he were looking actually forward to her being with him. She wondered what he saw in her, a nerdy, awkward girl.

“Why do you want me to show you anyways? There are tons of gi- people around”

He turned towards her, his alluring smile hitting her heart once again.

“Because you’re too fun to be away from” his hand rubbed his neck, and even though the surroundings were dim, she swore a blush came upon his cheeks. Just the thought of her having that affect on him made her go red too, but she never showed it. She was a strong individual, who wasn’t easy to get.

“Well, I can meet you tomorrow if you’d like” she finally caved in, metres away from the inn. The lettered-lights were shining bright(she internally hit her mind for doing that, where'd the tough girl go?). She got a better look of him.

“Sure, but _kahan?_ ” he tried yet another attempt at that language. She chuckled again; it was endearing how hard he tried.

“Okay, you really need Hindi lessons from me. But, um, we can meet right there” her finger pointed towards the small tower at the end of the road, “in five p.m.”

Now it was his turn to chuckle “At five p.m., you mean”

“Whatever” she grumbled, and before she turned towards her own house, she looked back. She could see the young lad about to head in, and cried “It’s Kahani, by the way”

The boy stopped in his tracks. He flashed yet another dazzling smile (god, how does he do that every single time?) and cried back, loud enough for her to hear

“I’m Steven, Steven Universe”

‘Ste-ven’ she mused. ‘Ste-ban. Ste-wan’ she giggled at the name. It was so, unusual. She had never heard that name before, or many names that resembled his. It was very captivating, though, and she could feel herself thinking about him, just for a second, before crashing back to reality.

“Hai Ram” she moaned. Her legs worked at fast as they could to go to her destination.

Only fifteen minutes remained till her curfew.

* * *

* * *

* * *

**THE NEXT DAY**

Kahani had a new name, apparently.

Not by choice, though. Heck, it wasn’t even a huge change. It was just a rather, interesting, mispronunciation by her newly acquired friend.

When Steven met Kahani at their designated spot and greet her using the same boyish charm he had, in an attempt to impress her, he tried speaking her name as perfectly as he could with one night’s practice.

“Kah-hon-ee” he said, and Connie completely awed over his adorableness. Internally, of course, because why should he have the satisfaction of knowing what her did to her?)

He made several attempts on their way, but failed every single time. He vowed to make it right by the end of the day, but Connie couldn’t bear the thought of him trying so hard to woo her (if that was what he was trying to do, that is). She knew she was not worth the trouble.

“Why don’t you call me something else? Any name that sounds like mine?”

Steven really thought hard over that. He tried running all the ‘C’ and ‘K’ initiating names he knew. Carnelian, Chris(no, that’s generally a boy name), Kiara…

“Connie” he finally spoke.

Kahani was surprised that he actually took her word for that.

“Connie” he spoke again, firmer this time.

Kahani Maheshwaran was now astounded. Why in the world was this male interested at the prospect of spending his precious time with such a normal, ordinary girl? She was yet to understand.

One thing Connie got to know about Steven (was it?) was that he was a very touchy person. Not the touches that are initiated very early into a relationship (friends, in their situation, of course) which counts for a feeling of unwanted nakedness and disgust. His touches…well they were hard to explain. It went something like this-

His hand, whenever they ate something and she showed him one of the toys she loved to play with and many other wonders of her homeland, immediately went to hers, holding it, either in gratitude or squeezing it in awe. And although it was nothing but superficial, a smooth skin touching on a mildly sweaty one, it always dwindles down into something much more in her senses. She would play with his a lot, trying different angles with all that hand holding, some of which were so perfect, their hands would clasp together so amazingly like a magnetic jigsaw. It was a new territory, the touches, the soft whispers, the shoulder bumping. None of her friends (which mainly meant Paraido and Lajuli) were given such privileges, even two years down their relation. None of the boys she was well acquainted with even thought of as a woman of affection. It was heartwarming, and she craved for more of that comforting sensations.

She learnt one very crucial thing about him in the course of that one and three quarters of an hour. He has an enormous heart. It is that kind of quality that even if he holds the farthest thing from a life of superfluity; he will happily sacrifice his meal just to gain the satisfaction of taking the view of another happy individual. She remember that at some point, they encountered an old lady, whose voice had by cracked and dried due to the ridges of time but her love was still omnipresent in every syllable she sang. And that love was so contagious to someone like Steven that he dropped a whole five hundred rupees in her bowl, the shining crisp note being a much better reward deserving for her rasp, retro voice than those bottle caps. The woman couldn’t be more jovial, and in amidst her joy she gave him several blessings that Connie had to translate.

(She wouldn’t tell anyone- not even to herself after this- but he looks cutest when confused. Eyebrows knitting and lips slightly pouting, she swears that if she were in love with him, she would have to resist the urge of engulfing him in a hug)

“Passions run as deep as the wrinkles on your face” he said, before asking for another plate of the snack. The words really settled in her head. Maybe one day, she thought, she will see for herself.

When time was about to finish, she walked with him again. He always forgot his ways, he admitted. Somewhere in the middle, a rustle could be heard from amidst the bushes. Taken aback, Steven-instinctively, as if he had done it a million times already- held her hand, squeezing it tightly once again. After it turned out to be one of Connie’s neighbour’s dogs and he caught his breath back, he never let go. It remained covered on hers, for his huge chubby one was about one and a half size larger than hers. His stubby fingers played with hers as they took turns cracking jokes, and when their hands finally separated when they reached their door of his inn, she swore her whole hand still tingled as if it were in excitement.

“ _Alvida_ , Connie” he said, and she understood.

She liked (or maybe, just maybe absolutely loved) the way her name slipped off his tongue too much to try teaching him to say an exotic ‘Kahani’.

 _Connie Maheshwaran_ , she thought, _has a nice ring to it._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven and Connie get into a little argument

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT NOTE  
> The parts which are UNDERLINED AND ITALICIZED ARE PARTS WHICH ARE ACTUALLY SPOKEN IN HINDI.

Connie had three best friends- Paraido Sharma, Lajuli and Bijmuth.

They were all elder to her, especially Bijmuth, who was about thirty years of age. But their friendship was deep and she could safely trust them with her life if she needed to. They helped her out in many different ways, both personally and superficially. Bijmuth made sure she was in top condition health-wise, Paraido was her personal tutor and she had been top of her class for four consecutive years thanks to her, and Lajuli honed her creativity and other music and art related skills. And of course, the daily shenanigans are a must in friendships. They pranked a lot of innocent women, men and children (or maybe not so innocent. I mean, Peridot says, one who disregards science should be treated a traitor to society. They were lucky they weren’t caught that once, or else, Connie shudders at the possibility)

Today they were not friendly with her.

Not that they had a fight or anything. They weren’t hostile, but were on her last freakin’ nerve.

It all started with Lajuli’s snarky comment

 _“So, who’s the boy?”_ Connie was taken aback, no doubt, but did a marvellous job hiding it. She knew if she would respond with ‘who boy?’ then even more intrusive questions would come her way. She played it off cool-

_ “Oh, just a guy from somewhere out, wanting to explore this area. I kinda bumped into him and then he presumed that we could be best friends or something.” _

_“Best friends?”_ Paraido asked, a smirk on her face. This was if not new, just not the things Connie dealt with, and so she turned away in embarrassment before someone caught her going red. _“Not by the way you were holding hands… Or did Lajuli tell me wrong? Hey, you were correct, weren’t you?”_

_ “Yes, I was. Come on Kahani, spill” _

She was about to defend herself from their taunts, but much to relief Bijmuth entered after a seemingly tiring day from work. She was the local blacksmith, and was fairly popular among the locals. Sometimes, she would get paid heavily by some of the rich ones out there, and then she would usually give Connie a gift like a book. She simply adored her.

 _“Namaste, Bijmuth”_ she joined her hands in that gesture. Bijmuth embraced her and the other two slightly before overdramatically flopping on her bed, squashing Paraido’s leg by falling onto her lap. An interesting noise of annoyance was heard.

 _“He bhagwan! I wish people weren’t so stingy with their money! Dumb man promised me a sum of a thousand rupees, but in the end we had to settle for 900. He was lucky my ‘talented hands’ didn’t strangle his neck”_ she grumbled. Lajuli gave her a cup of tea. Connie internally sighed in relief that the whole ‘boy’ topic was over, but luck was not on her side that day

 _“So, Bijmuth, do you know that our Kahani is in love”_ she cooed, clasping her hands and fluttering her eyes. This lightened Bijmuth’s mood, and Connie knew that she can be worse than those two combined. She prepared herself.

 _“Ooohhh, Kahani! Never expected to see your heart leaping out for real people instead of imaginary ones. Who is he?”_ Bijmuth nudged her. Connie opened her mouth, but she cut her off. _“It must be the samosa vendor’s son, he always gave you discounts. Or the guy from your class who always asks you for homework. Or-“_

 _“Quiet”_ she screamed. The giggling and mockery halted. She continued _“Look its nothing big. He just wanted help, so I offered it. He’s just from some foreign place I guess”_

 _“Yeah, ‘cause you roam around with random people all the time”_ Lajuli stated sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

_ “I mean, we were one of your first friends and it took you one year before you asked your parents if you could hang out with us. Wait, your parents know?!”  _

Connie’s parents were rather strict. Okay, very strict. Like, she constantly needed their golden approval for almost everything. It was very infuriating, because her parents were hard to please. It was almost impossible for her to convince them to allow her to talk to Paraido and the others. They had to buy gifts way above budget, but they said it was worth it, because they always viewed her as a little sister worth protecting. (And Lajuli said that she was one of the only people that could handle her taunts)

 _“Of course they do not”_ Lajuli snapped, before adding a worrisome _“Do they?”_

Bijmuth had a very crestfallen look on her face. If one looked closely enough, one could see the formation of minute tears on her eyes. Paraido asked _“Bijji? You don’t seem to be doing well”_

 _“Nah, I’m fine”_ he stood up and started walking towards Connie. She put a hand on her head _“Look, Kahani, even though I really like that you are reaching out and making new friends, just don’t get too attached”_ Connie was cut a second time that day _“I don’t care if you want to be just friends, but if he’s from somewhere foreign, he will go back, sooner or later. And long distance relationships never seem to work out. They never have. They never will”_ she thought that maybe Bijmuth was more reflecting than advising. She recollected herself soon enough. “Its best that you stop looking at him, but it’s your choice” she gave a large thump on her back and with a wistful smile, proceeded towards her room.

 _“What was that all about?”_ Paraido inquired, breaking the silence. Connie shook her head, but she knew.

That tough woman with an even tougher heart had once been broken.

“Steven, come on now!” Connie cried, motioning him towards the secluded cabin. It looked like a hastily put cube of bricks and cement, and that’s what made it one of the most feared buildings in the entire district. One thing about villages and semi-urban areas was that because the entire area was more or less a tightly knit family, so any real or fictional story about any person or event spread like wildfire. And every story was told so animatedly, especially by the elder folks, that it captured the hearts of all and made it feel all the more believable. So, when Connie learnt about the story of the broken house, she wanted to go there for the longest time, but a tiny part of her was always a little…paranoid. So, this was the perfect opportunity to face her fears and even scare her new friend. She was a very naughty girl.

“Woah…” he whispered in amazement. “Is this the place?”

“Yes. Before we go there, allow me to tell you the story of this broken place”

“O-okay”

“What? Are you scared?”

He puffed his chest in an attempt to look brave (which only resulted in a chiding laughter from the other) “Steven Universe is never scared!”

“Okay, Mr. Never-Scared. Legends say that long ago, this place was the humble home of a weapon blacksmith. He used to serve the ruler until the famine came and finances were at an all time low. So when the king promised that he would repay him after his battles with the affluent neighbouring rulers, he took his word for it. He spent countless nights making the best weapons he could. But, when the king won a huge amount of war booty and was richer than ever after a few more victories, he became greedy, and forgot to pay the blacksmith. As an act of defiance he went to the king’s court and killed himself in front of his very eyes, vowing to take revenge as a supernatural being. The king took him lightly, but he was wrong. Soon he used his own works to murder the innocent, until one night, and exorcist confined his spirit in this very house. Now it stays there, waiting for its next victim” her voice had turned sinister and dark halfway, and Steven was genuinely scared.

“But, that’s a bunch of stupid stories” she spoke light heartedly again, “there’s no _actual_ spirit”

This calmed Steven down minutely.

The door opened with a loud ‘creek’, the rusty hinges already on the brink of falling off. Sure enough, there was a whole lot of metal work there.

‘I think Bijmuth will like this place’ she mused, before a hiss was to be heard.

“Um Connie,” Steven called, clearly horrified and tense. “I think it’s best if we-“

 _“Kauunn haiiii wahaaannn?(Who are you)”_ someone moaned. Connie kept a mouth on Steven who was about to open his.

“Shhh…” she whispered, lowly.

 _“I said whoo-_ “ and a whine was heard. Connie understood everything. She whispered into Steven’s ear “Just play along”

_ “Um, we are kids”  _

_“Ohh a young girl…well, I always hated young, little, weak people”_ she held Steven’s arm and led him to a particular direction. The sound seemed to be amplifying by every second. Steven still didn’t catch on.

 _“Well…too bad you’re trapped here now”_ she saw a small sword. She picked it up. Steven, following her lead, picked a shield. Connie marvelled at his strength. It certainly seemed heavy.

The door closed with another terrifying creak. It was dark, but the spaces between the bricks allowed some light to enter. She saw a shadow. She figured out minutes ago that it was not a spirit, but some time-wasting loafer trying to fool around. She told Steven to wait. When she approached the shadow, a pair of hands grabbed her waist. Her breath hitched, and she tried squiggling out of his grasp. The arms were too strong for her, and she knew she was now kidnapped. She looked up, just so that _if_ (a lot of stress on if) she escapes, she could dictate his face to the police. It was a man, probably in his early twenties, who had a stub and a short moustache. His smile was downright menacing, and when their eyes met, she could see his predatory hunger. It paralyzed her, the waves of fear running through her, hitting her hard. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t speak, and she had never been that terrified.

“Stay away from her” she heard a deep voice, threatening, grumbling.

The large man was confused, and she heard Steven mutter ‘Yeah, they can’t understand me’

The burglar correctly interpreted it as a threat, and lunged ordered one of his two men to thrash him to the ground. She braced herself for the worst, and heard a painful moan.

Her eyes shot open, but it wasn’t Steven who did that. She saw the lean attacker holding his jaw, and howling in pain. Steven connected his eyes with the other man. They looked murderous. He raised his eyebrow, challenging the other one. The second one, on the other hand, squealed in fright and fled. Steven gave a satisfying smirk. The boss level came, and the bulky guy threw Connie down and lunged for the small boy.

Watching Steven go at it was like watching an action movie. He was surprisingly agile for his weight, and he dodged his punches and kicks so effortlessly she was impressed. The man was getting more enraged by the minute (probably because he has never learnt for things not to go his way) and he picked up random objects and flung at him with full strength. Connie was concerned about him, but he swiftly grabbed the shield and used it professionally enough for her to think of him as some sort of prince. He ran up the wall for a few centimetres and jumped towards the man, and with one final blow, knocked him to the ground. He was snorting fumes, and after checking that the man is not in a good enough state to move, he rushed towards Connie. He picked her up, and cupped her face in his hands. The touch was soft, and she found herself leaning into it. She didn’t know if she was red enough for him to see. His eyes showed that he was very worried, and it melted her heart. He breathed, “Are you alright?”

“Yes” she gasped, because she saw that somehow, the man had gotten up and was about to charge Steven a second time. She took her mini-sword and quickly rushed in front of her partner, threatening the man to even dare taking a step forward. Her hands tried their best not to shake.

_ “Come one step closer, and you’ll regret it”  _

The man seemed unfrazzled, but Connie then held him by his collar and aimed the knife straight at his throat.

 _“I don’t think so”_ she pressed on. After a few tense seconds, she let go off him. He begged for mercy. His hands clasped and knees joined in a desperate attempt for forgiveness. Steven tried convincing her that people can change if she gives them the chance, but she digressed.

“I don’t want any other person to feel what I felt today” Tears formed in her eyes. She couldn’t cry, though. She couldn’t show weakness to the very person who was about to ruin her life. She forced Steven to tie his hands and promised to get the police.

While they were walking back, Connie bashfully said “Um, thanks. For saving me. I was so scared”

“But you were pretty intimidating at the end”

“Well, Steven, girls here are termed weak. That’s why people take advantage of them so easily. I knew I had to step in sometime. Just wish I could’ve sooner”

“Yeah. But you did just fine when you did. And please, don’t thank me. It was my duty to protect you”

“Who appointed you bodyguard?” she mocked.

“Well, it’s our duty to protect every civilian” she turned towards him. Was it even possible to find such people on Earth nowadays?

“That’s true”

“Connie,” he spoke a few silent moments later.

“Yes?”

“Why didn’t you forgive him?”

“Because, as I already told you that thousands of people are kidnapped and held for ransom and selling every day. We cannot trust a person not to do it again just because they made some puppy eyes”

“But everyone deserves a second chance” he tried sounding as innocent as possible. Well, there went her angelic, perfect boy view of him.

“He will get it once he’s out of jail” she assured him.

“Why are you so hard on him?”

“Someone has to. We’re not gullible like you” she started to get angry. _Was he taking his side? After all the bashing he did to him? What in the-_

“I am not gullible. I was just saying-“

“You weren’t the one he had his arms around. You weren’t the one who was about to get harassed. You weren’t the one he gave dirty looks to! I don’t know what kind of perfect world you live in but that’s not here. Here people actually have malicious intent, and they don’t change. So will you come with me and report to the police? Or else you know the way if you want to set him free” she walked briskly, and Steven waited there for a few second to let her words sink in. When they did, he ran to her side.

He walked alongside her until the hotel came into their view. After that, she turned, saying she had to buy a few stuff from the market and then report. When she turned, he held her hand, stopping her there.

To Connie it somewhat felt like a scene right out of a romantic Bollywood movie for a second, before she shook it off. ‘Stupid misogynistic boy’ she grumbled internally. She waited for him to explain.

“Look, I’m sorry” he spoke as sincerely as he could. She was convinced, and she didn’t know how. It was probably because he had just been so wonderful to her and everyone around, spreading sympathy and kindness as if they were like candies in his pockets.

“I know you are” she answered. “But, I don’t think I can trust you that much” she added, truthfully.

“Why?”

“It has been only a week since we met, and I don’t trust anyone easily. But with you, I actually thought I could, but you were supporting the kidnapper and-“

“It was a terrible, terrible misunderstanding. I wasn’t saying that he was right; I just thought he could redeem himself, that’s all. I feel ashamed, okay, of hurting him. It-forgiving- worked before with some of my friends”

Connie rolled her eyes in annoyance and proceeded to where she was heading to earlier. Steven tugged on her hand even harder. The distance between them shortened than what is was previously.

“But, it’s not that case with everyone and some people just don’t want to stop. There, happy?”

Somehow, Connie felt as if she were playing the bad guy even worse than the actual villain.

“It’s not like I don’t think people can improve. I think he can, but I can’t deny the fact that he deserves that imprisonment tenure. Who know what he has done with the others” she said, dejected.

“You’re right” Steven gave in. He pulled her even closer, and kept his other hand on hers, covering it by all sides. His touch made her skin feel alive, like a small butterfly taking its first flight. So vibrant, so refreshing, it almost made her forget why she was angry at him.

“I’m not going to force you to trust me or hang out with me. But I can assure you that I’ll never let anything happen to you as long as I am here”

Her eyelids partly close, and she speaks “I can save myself too. I am not some damsel in distress”

“A little help won’t help, right?”

Her mind drifted to the day’s events, where like a trained fighter he fought those men with malicious intent. She was relieved to know that a fourth option, a very (physically as well and mentally) reliable fourth option exists, to where she can lean on. When they bid goodbye, she, although scarred, still manages to float in euphoria after letting the feelings of his hand on hers re-enter.

When she reached home, she opens her book and begins to study, her mind totally off the unneeded mushy stuff. (Because she knows that she has to focus on her studies. Love and friendship can only take her far, but she needs a stable career to not only prove her villagers and parents wrong but also herself successful. She is a very goal-oriented girl, not a feelings blinded fool)

But, when she lies down in bed, she wonders how long it takes for a person to fall in love, because judging by the way her hands still tingles, she might be going there. And god, she doesn’t want to.

Anything but that. You know why?

Because, as Bijmuth said, he is a traveller, a tenured tourist, who has to go back eventually. She assures her mind its nothing but admiration, and satisfied with that, drifts into a sleep, dreaming about space and planets.

“Stchu-ball, we can’t extend our vacation up to two and a half months. You know back home you have-“

“Yeah, yeah, I know! But dad, this whole place is special. The people here are special, Connie is spec-“

“Wait a minute. Isn’t Connie the same girl you’ve been telling me about? The guide?”

“Yeah! Dad, I really need to interact with her more”

“There are always different ways”

“But Dad, none of those are better than face-to-face”

“Steven…Are you sure?”

“Yes, Dad, please? I know I have a lot of stuff to attend to once I reach home but that’s alright. Once I’m all freshened up after this then I can go there as a new leaf!”

Greg Universe, Steven’s dad, pondered over this for a few seconds. He has always been supportive of Steven’s decision but he didn’t particularly approve of this one. He had duties, he had responsibilities. But, a part of Greg’s mind rationed, he is just sixteen. Let him have his fun, because who knows what’s in store for him afterwards, judging by his position. Greg finally agreed to it.

“Yes!” Steven exclaimed in delight “Okay, maybe Pearl, Amethyst and Garnet will have woken up by now. Not sure about Amethyst, though. I really should call them” he said as he opened his laptop. Greg sighed.

He just really hopes he doesn’t lose interest in this place before the intended time, and that he knows what ways the roads may go once he decides upon staying away from his home a few more weeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!  
> So, if you missed the earlier note the underlined and italicized part was actually that characters speaking in Hindi. I thought it weird that I potray everyone here speaking English and still set in India, and yet also write everything in Hindai and then translate every word of it. So I did this in such format. The following chapters will folloe the smae unless specified  
> Also, you might have guessed, Lajuli, Paraido, and Bijmuth and actually Lapis, Peridot and Bismuth. We don't have names like these around here so I tried to match then with the closest sounding common village-type name. Lazuli is still a name (its found plenty in Rajasthan region) but pronounced La-ju-li, so here we are!
> 
> If you guys want to talk know the Hindi translations of any of the above lines I'd be more than happy to provide you with some. And also, additional relations will come to play too.
> 
> I legitimately cried after watching the last episode. So many feelings ran through me like a whirlwind, I bawled after a really long time. The cookie cat reprise, the finishing 'Original' Crystal Gem hug, the Connverse kiss, it was all to much for me. I would love to elaborate more on this, but neither am I good with words or feelings nor am I awake enough to do that. You can still talk to me about it in the comments
> 
> Which reminds me, please leave comments and kudos! And I was half asleep so please try ignoring the typos and grammatical errors. I will fix them all eventually :)
> 
> And lastly(sorry) stay safe. The coronavirus outbreak has gone to a point where we all should take this seriously and practice various norms. Wash your hands, socially distance yourself, and not just think about yourself, but also of the others. Hope you all have a nice day/night!  
> Lots of love,  
> :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven and Connie have their first intimate talk..amongst other things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Beacuse the author has a nasty habit of proof reading their stuff after posting it, please I suggest you read now it coz I think I've cancelled out many of the mistakes....  
> Sorry.  
> ALSO, A Very Important Note Of Help In The End, please regard it.

Connie and Steven had a very close friendship, now after two and a half weeks (and fifteen hours, Steven thinks, but who’s counting?). Steven had explored a plethora of cultures, customs, exotic food (some of which he must admit were way too spicy for him), dressing and people in plenty, yet succinct manner, all because of his gorgeous guide.

Steven was very sensitive, so it was natural for him to feel fast and feel hard. His feelings were exaggerated and bubbling, and so it was no surprise that Steven already felt a whole lot of emotions towards the Indian girl. He thought she was the most beautiful girl there. She was not lithe like the others, but still had a certain charm to her body. It felt real to him, not some sort of shallow beauty goal. It was understood that she didn’t have any, because she was so, so intellectual and devoted to her studies. And he knew by the way she knew anything and everything not just about science and maths but also about her surroundings so intimately that she was interested in knowledge, not a bunch of numbers on a piece of paper. (“Though marks too have their own importance” she justifies when he compliments her on said fact. She looks the other way, but he hears a light giggle he _knows_ is from her)

Steven was taught on feelings a lot by his guardians, so he knows when and what he feels. It’s for the better, they say, knowing what you feel. And he knows that he doesn’t like Connie like someone who has been a friend to someone is supposed to. It’s like infatuation, but more. Not love, though, not yet, for he knows what that could feel like, thanks to the various displays of affections shown by his friends and family back home.

The whole feels-training first took place when his life got better and so much worse at the same time. He remembers when he got to know the truth about his family’s legacy he didn’t know what to do. Part of him felt delighted, like everything- the strange looks, the hushed voices, the secret meetings, the surprise, threatening attacks- all made sense, and that he has a purpose. One the other hand, he felt as if a huge burden was suddenly dropped on his petty shoulders, like he was- in an instant- responsible for where his family and loved ones’ future is heading towards (and, he hated to admit it, their past too. In a weird indirect way). So, in that internal conflict of feelings, his family helped him to sort out his inner thoughts. He remembers an episode of anger issues and temper problems, which lead him to asking for a vacation. A break from everything, and after some research, he decided upon India. He didn’t really know what made him choose this place out of all the other destinations, but looking at the way Connie was playing so cheerfully hopscotch with the little kids (and they way her long, seemingly soft lock of plaid hair were swinging) and asking him to play his turn, he decided it was pure fate.

* * *

Her hands shook by the amount to weight she was carrying.

Apparently, Steven’s father had given him some money to buy some souvenirs for back home, and while he was busy stuffing his mouth with samosas, she was the ‘sweet helping girl’ who had to hold his ‘little things’. He promised he’d pay her back, and she was hoping he would buy her something as valuable as, I don’t know a diamond necklace for all she’s done for him.

Steven said that he wanted to buy one last thing for a special someone. When Connie asked him who was that ‘special someone’, he told her to wait. Curiosity seeped through her mind, as if she were suspicious of him. She asked him with a tinge of annoyance which she didn’t even notice coming. He told her that she (Connie knew it was a girl, and her heart suddenly beat faster in anticipation for something unknown) was probably his closest his-age friend and the prettiest and coolest person he had ever met. Connie was wondering who he was talking about.

When he mentioned the name of a bookstore, her eyes lit up like the stars. There was no other way around it, she loved bookstores. The literal smell of paper and ink and metaphoric smells of knowledge and wonders always used to fill her with bliss like no other. The writings never ceased to elevate her out of reality and take her into an imaginary world full of knight and dragons and whatnot.

He went in and he had a reaction similar to Connie’s. He told her once that he had been banned from the television for ten years (no kidding) and it was his first time actually discovering what literature was. She was never really granted television privileges, so seeing a show was a rare occurrence. She never complained.

He asked out of the blue “Do you ever wish to buy something, but can’t because of money?”

Connie was taken aback. Of course she has had moments like those. She was rarely given allowance, and when she did earn money by tutoring some children, it was never enough to afford some of the things she’s like to own. Library membership was also to be paid (although her parents did give half of the money).

“Yes, a lot” she lamented. Her eyes scanned the room until she found the book she’d been looking for. She brought it down to him. “You should try this book! It is the most elaborate encyclopaedia ever created. You can see how thick it is! I always wanted this, but always fall a few hundred or so rupees short.”

He flipped a few pages to see for himself. Connie was right, it was very elaborate. It had high quality, coloured pictures and big, scientific language he always got confused form. From gemstones to human anatomy to sports, it had it all. The cover itself was eye catching, with illustrations about, well, everything. It was so amazing, Steven could get why Connie wanted it so badly. He said that he wanted to explore the other shelves for himself.

A few minutes later he emerged with a bunch of book on his arms. She asked for her to review them, to guide him which ones were the best for him.

“Weren’t you here because of that ‘special girl’” she sneered, jealousy creeping in.

“Is it illegal for me to grab some stuff for myself?”

Connie reached out for the first book.

She eyes widened in disbelief. What is he-

“ROMANCE? Are you serious? What kind of hopelessly mushy human are you?”

“Now, no judgements” he chuckled

“But, you can read things so much more knowledgeable and thrilling! Like science-fiction or mysteries or thrillers or even non- fiction”

“Is it wrong to read about love?” he retorted.

The shopkeeper was giving him a dirty look due to all that noise. She sheepishly smiled and scooted closer to her. Both were sitting on the floor then

“It is when it’s the only thing you read. Your mind will be filled of dumb fantasies and surreal expectations about happily ever after. Then ding-dong your life will have a bad turn and you will only trust your heart what to do and not your brains”

“Have you ever read any?”

“Not quite”

“Then why are you judging it like that”

“It’s an honest judgement”

“But is it correct judgement?”

She remained silent. She didn’t have any counter-arguments for that solid enough. She grumbled and stood up, telling him to hurry up. He told her to wait outside while he purchased his books. When he got out, he told he had a small token of appreciation. She closed her eyes and felt something cool and thin on her palm. She opened it to reveal the most wonderful trinklet. It had a dark blue bellflower, and little leaves were all around the chains. Sure, she had seen more beautiful designs and better works, but this one was given with by a warm hand and a bashful smile as charming and attractive as his, she couldn’t resist claiming in her heart as one of the most precious artefacts she’d ever received.

* * *

_ “Lajuli, Paraido, Bijmuth! Where are you?” _

No answer. Steven just stood there awkwardly.

“ _Come on, I told you he’s be coming. It better not be- oof”_

She was splattered with a pail of water. Her whole body was drenched, and Steven was only partly.

 _“Oops, couldn’t resist”_ Lajuli snorted.

 _“Wow guys”_ she said sarcastically. In the mind, she was worried that they might not have created a good impression on his mind. Fortunately, he was laughing.

“That was a good one. But maybe you could put some sand in it. And maybe the angle could be wider- wait, do they understand me?”

Paraido walked towards him after having stopped goofing.

“I don’t know about Lajuli” she pointed towards the tall girl still laughing, “but I’ve been teaching Kahani English since she was young. Paraido Sharma” she held her hand out for him to shake.

“I’m Steven Universe”

“We know” she smirks, as if she knows something he doesn’t. He doesn’t seem to notice, and walks towards Lajuli. He holds his hands together in a greeting. She returns it, giggling like a high-schooler.

“Namaste, Ste-ban”

“Namaste, Lazuli”

The mispronunciation from both sides elicited a mutual laugh. A few more moments of light aloofness occurred. Connie was relieved that he liked them (she was confused though. Why did she need their consent?)

A booming voice is heard

_ “Paraido, Lajuli, have you seen my-“ _

She halts at the sight of the foreign boy. It looks as if she had just seen a monster. Steven, Connie and Bijmuth simultaneously tense up. A few sharp gasps could be heard. Steven feels intimidated under her hard gaze. She turns over to Connie and speaks

 _ “Kahani, what did I say about this?” _she asked, almost frantically.

_ “To stay away, but it was my choice” _

“ _Ughh… don’t you know discretion? Of course I wanted you to stay away from him! He is going to go back one day, Kahani. He’s going to lure you and leave you in the dust!”_

“Bijmuth,” Connie tries to reason

_ “No! Connie, listen to me. I can see it in your eyes. I’ve known you and raised you long enough to know it. You feel about him. You feel and it’s not good. Believe me” _

_“How can I?”_ she screamed. Lajuli cowered behind Paraido in fear. She didn’t even bother correcting her. It irked her that she was hiding something from her. That moment she was glad he didn’t understand Hindi, or else she would have to explain a lot to him. _“How can I when you don’t give me a clear cut reason?”_

_ “I can’t Kahani please-“ _

_“Then I’ll go with him”_ she said gravely.

The protests of the other two were futile. She dragged his hand and led him out. She didn’t stop until they were out of earshot.

She felt like a Bollywood heroine who was breaking the rules to be with her true love. Except that she severed her relationship with one of her closest friends and Steven was not her true love, yet. They were in front of the stream when they stopped. Guilt coursed through her body, and she remained silent. Even the little things that always made her smile didn’t work, except for the stream bank. Connie told him a week ago that it was originated from the Himalayas, so the water was cool. The atmosphere was cool, too (more metaphorically than literally)

An awkward silence lingered while they sat. Connie untwisted her braid to dry her hair. The sound of river hitting on the rocks was heard. It eased Steven, but he still didn’t know what to say.

“So…um…nice company you’ve got there”

Ignorance.

“I mean, those two pranksters are really fun to be with. And all three obviously love-“

“I know, I know” she interrupted him, annoyed.

He walked over to where she was sitting. The rocks were a little slippery, and he almost tumbled over one, but eventually found a spot right beside her. Their arms were almost touching. She could see her gazing over the little white flowers. She told him once that their brilliance was in the fact that they thrived even during the harsh challenges of the wilderness. Their beauty was in the way they adapted. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again. He was lost. Luckily, she broke the silence

“Don’t worry about Bijmuth”

“I am not. I’m sure she loves you and that’s why she…um…decided to nudge you in the right direction”

“You don’t even know why”

“I don’t need to. It’s your misunderstanding. I’ll only step in if you want me to” His hands slowly drifted towards her. So silent it was she didn’t even notice.

“But even I don’t know. One day I introduce her to you and she doesn’t even know you and she…blows up for no justified reason”

“Maybe she had her own dark story? And didn’t want the same to happen to you?”

“You think I didn’t notice?” she snarked “I’m not dumb, but unless she tells me why, how on Earth can I believe her. Hay Ram!” he rubbed her temples.

He suddenly got one method to console her. He took out his phone. Connie was too gloomy to even realize that a sixteen-year-old had acquired a design as modern and efficient as that, and wasn’t energised with curiosity like always. He showed her a photograph.

“They are my family” Her interest piqued. She took the phone and peered intently to them.

“The tall, slim one is Pearl” he started. “She was my mother’s best friend. She used to be her sole confidant, and past lover. She taught more everything there is to know about pri- um…education. She also taught me to face life’s struggles head-on, just like she did.” Steven hoped she didn’t notice her slip up, and to his relief, her eyes were fixated on the photograph.

Pearl in that photo was wearing a blue sundress. A petite straw hat lay atop her head, and she had what she heard was called a bob cut. Her hair was peach-ish in colour, and her eyes were a wonderful sky blue. Connie was enamoured by her, for she also looked incredibly wise and witty. In that photo, her arm was also draped across another woman. This one was stout and chubby, and didn’t look a day over eighteen. Her hair was also coloured a weird light lavender. Nevertheless, it was a good look on her.

“Yeah, this one’s Amethyst” he said, almost as if reading her mind “she is my saviour, in many ways. Like, when Pearl gets so very unbearable because I haven’t done my spelling test on my _birthday_ ” Connie giggles at his exasperation “she blackmails her with something I don’t know and we go to Funland! This is like an amusement park, which has one of the best arcades ever. Amethyst and I have scored the highest in almost every game, just because we know the most cheats” Connie shot him an indignant look “NOT like we cheat in life or something. Just arcades. And maybe exams” he muttered. Connie found this quite amusing. “But other than this, she also helped me gain a lot of confidence I never knew I had, and many strategies, for pranks. Says they might come in handy in real life too” He took a rock and flung it in the water. He didn’t know why, it was a nice distraction from the bang of homesickness he might be feeling.

“And the tallest one in Garnet.” She was actually very tall, and had sunglasses. She looked extremely fit and toned, and she wondered if she were some sort of model or wrestler of some sorts. “She is really close to me. She’s usually quiet and kinda emotionless, but once she speaks and opens up, she is really fun to be with. Very savage, and know the best comebacks known to man. She taught me how to feel. Not just about me, but also about others, and how they feel and to sympathize with them. She told me that every feeling on this Earth matters. She has two moms, and both of them are also pretty cool. They’re a little old now, but Ruby still works out like a teenager, and Sapphire can easily beat any witty guy there is. They are also deeply in love with each other”

He seems to be so proud of his family. They sound just marvellous to her. A pang of jealousy shoots through her, as she wishes that she could get a family like his.

“Why are you showing me all of this?” she asked suddenly, after having studied every single one of them.

“Because, like you, even I went through a very hard time”

“What happened?”

He really wanted to tell her- he really did- but was afraid of her reaction and her behaviour towards him afterwards. He felt ashamed, not trusting such a wonderful person, but he couldn’t bring himself to it.

“It’s a little personal” Connie nodded. She knew what it felt like to probe things out of a person they didn’t want to say. She respected his boundaries. “But, what I can say is that I wasn’t in the best of health, physically and mentally. I used to get unnecessarily angry, used to trash places, and overate just to fulfil the void inside me. That’s why I had gained a lot of weight” his eyes downcast, his hands brushed his flabby stomach. Connie scooted closer to him, not minding a thing about him physically. Their arms and knees were touching now. “I felt like I didn’t have any control over myself, and they scolded me. They told me well and stern where I was going wrong. At first I thought they were on my case all the time just because they wanted to, but in the end, it all paid off. They got softer because we communicated and I asked for them to be gentler with me, and then I improved myself. Well, I am still improving. So, in that process I thought I might relapse back and I wanted to escape from there. So, I came here for a vacation”

‘When will you be going?’ the words were on the tip of her tongue, waiting to spill out. She knew it was inevitable that he would. He couldn’t leave his life behind. Heck, even she wouldn’t. But she just wanted to pretend that he was staying there as much as she wanted him to, not treating their escapades like a ticking time bomb. She didn’t speak that; instead, she started a story of her own.

“Here girls are not given full freedom” the startled Steven, the sudden break of silence “I mean, this is the most wonderful place I could ever wish to stay. It’s my home, but I am not given full freedom. Even if we women stand above all in academics, sports, or any other field, we are constantly restrained by our families because we have to look like we are following the society norms. Families have to look like they are not a mindless creature who give importance to the _girls_ ”

“But my parents are a little different. They want me to study, but I’m not sure for the reason I think they do. All my life I’ve been told to get top ranks and although it was my dream too, I think that they want me to be that topper for some other motive. But I’m not sure what. I think it’s related to…” she trailed off.

Steven kept a hand on hers. Not as a provocative gesture like before, but as a comforting one.

“If you want you can go on” his voice was like silk and it felt like she was draping it, the smooth texture wrapping her, warm and tight. She inhaled a whiff of air. It smelled like jasmines. And musky Earth.

“I think it’s related to marriage” she breathed. Her hands started to tremble. He pressed them, and the tremors reduced.

“Our husbands are decided by our parents. They chose our betrothal, and we have to listen to them. After that, our lives and mostly dictated by our arranged husbands” she was on the verge of crying. Steven couldn’t believe it. Connie was such a free-spirited, fun-loving, perfect girl. She had such an iron will, strong attitude, cohesive goals. To see her just being tied down and constrained by the conformity breaks his heart. He can feel the passion flowing out of her when she speaks about her dreams, and now he could see them ebbing away like a flame. He wishes to do something, but only one thing that comes to his mind.

He embraced her in the tightest hug he could. He shielded her, keeping the cold reality outside and letting her relish the warmth of being in his careful arms. She leaned into his touch, and blinked back tears. A wistful smile graced her features, and she said “It doesn’t hurt to aspire, though, and who knows? Maybe, just the slightest chance, that something good happens? I mean, I still have my friends” Steven could still feel the pain coming out of her.

“Do you believe in love?” he asked suddenly. He didn’t know what made him say that exactly, just that in that moment, looking at her bathed in moonlight, it made him want to know- desperately.

“I used to. Now, I don’t know”

“I believe in it” he said facing her, their eyes locking with each other. Steven never noticed it, but her eyes were the most beautiful chocolate brown he’d ever seen. Like the swamp, or like the mountains. Just something dark and intricate. He never wanted to let go.

Connie realized that she was feeling things she shouldn’t be feeling. Liking him more than she should have. Wanting to be close to him more than she ought to. But it felt so nice, being comforted by him, being in his arms. She never wanted to let go, too.

Steven tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her face tingled where he touched. His eyes reflected the moon.

Connie thought that she was falling. Hopelessly. And she didn’t want it to stop.

God, she never wanted this feeling to stop. She wished time halted then and there.

“You know what, I think I do believe in love. Just a little” she whispered, loud enough for only him to hear. Her voice was husky and low, and very magical and exotic. Her eyes subconsciously diverted down, and he couldn’t figure out whether they were looking towards his lips or his hands, with fingers now woven with each others.

But what he could manage to know was that his breath for taken away. He leaned in, and slowly, she did too….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!  
> Muahahaha I love cliffhangers!!!  
> There are optimists, there are pessimists, there are realist( and other -ists, but better not delve into that), so whichever one are you, you can guess how this is going to go. What I can say is that this is just the beginning!!  
> Thank you for the love you've been giving me!  
> Also, I need some advice- so please bear with me  
> So, um, I have writing commitment problems. It's like I have an idea, work on it, don't think it good or lose interest in it 'coz I have other ideas. Its not like I am losing interest currently, but still have the fear of doing so. My computer has a bunch of unfinished fanfics that I can't write more on. I don't want the same to happen again, especially since this is the testing year of my life academically and otherwise and I won't exactly have a lot of time 'coz I'll be focusing on a bunch of different stuff at the same time.  
> So please tell me how I can get past this hiatus inducing nature. I'd be really grateful!!
> 
> Edit:Because I noticed I had a lot of unnecessary mistakes, I edited it. You can re-read if you want


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two hearts break for their own separate reasons...

_Their breaths collided with each other, their hands were tightly connected. Steven whispered ‘Connie’ so passionately; it made her feel as if she had gone through one heck of a sugar rush…_

_It all abruptly ended when Connie suddenly jerked back, so hard she almost fell off. Her conscious reacted (fortunately and unfortunately) hard enough for her to wake from her hazy stupor. Steven reached out for her arm, and pulled her up to where she had regained her balance. They were close once again, their lips almost back to their initial places, but this proximity was an awkward one. Neither of them knew what to speak._

_A simultaneous though rushed into their head; neither of them could find answers of_

_‘What the Heck just happened?’_

* * *

Just around a kilometre away from where that happened, after about four days, Steven Universe was none better. A goofy smile graced his chubby face, and he swore he would die from the internal haemorrhage of all the blood not going anywhere but his face. Whenever he used to return from his tours with her, he would plop on his bed, and (ashamedly) ignore his father’s questions as he would take out his phone and gaze through the photographs of her radiant face on it. A storm of euphoria would cloud him. It felt so amazing, falling for someone the first time. Letting the tenderness of this fill him up and send him to euphoria. His whole head was in this daze that could only be described as young love.

_(And then it all stopped. Halted. Crumbled.)_

“Hello Steven” came the voice from the other end of the laptop. He was elated to hear from his family. This time, Garnet was speaking.

“Hey Garnet! How are you?”

“I am fine. How is India?”

“Awesome! Everything is so beautiful and colourful here. Oh and Garnet you must try this _paan_ thing. It’s sweet, but has this tanginess to it! Just like that sweet ‘n’ sour strawberry-blueberry stuff you like, only more, um, earthier and Indian! I’m bringing some home, I’m sure you’ll love it!”

“That’s nice Steven, but-“

“Steeeevvvennnn” came a high pitched shriek from another woman. She pushed Garnet to the side of the screen and excitedly stated

“Steven, oh my god you’ve lost weight!”

“Thanks Pearl” he said sheepishly. From all the eating he had been doing there (because stars there was something so addicting about some of the street food), he swore his stomach became fatter than ever. Pearl continued-

“Steven, did you see the yoga saints? Please tell me you have, I have heard this place has of the best. It would really help you calm your brain. You see, because forms like these-“

“Are the doorway to your inner self to which only you have the key of. And then some stuff about cherry blossoms. Thank you Pearl”

Pearl looked embarrassed.

“That’s well and good, but the reason I called you is that-“ Garnet started, but was interrupted again by his third guardian

“Steve-o, man!” Amethyst blocked both of his other family members. They did a screen-to-screen version of their signature handshake. “Long time so see bud. Didja forget about lil’ ol’ Amy?” she pouted. Steven laughed “Of course I haven’t! But I was just so busy with Connie all the time-“

“Wait, Connie?! Hey Pearl, wasn’t Connie the one Greg told us about?”

“Yes, now that you mention it. Steven, what’s going on between you two?” Pearl asked, a light mocking tone to her voice.

“You guys, it’s nothing. She’s just a girl who shows me around as a friend and charges no fee for the guide. She’s also really pretty, and beautiful, and smart, and-“ she started to trail off.

“Steven!” Garnet called sternly, regaining his attention “You need to listen to us. You need to come back after a month. We have to cut this down”

“Wha-WHAT??” Steven jerked his body so that he was sitting upright on his bed. His father excused himself to buy some toiletries. His eyes widened “But-“

“Please understand Steven, we have no other choice. This battle, it’s about to go berserk. We need you to train a lot more. And also learn how to handle key royal duties, like-“

“But Garnet, isn’t this what I’ve been dealing with since, I don’t know, my entire life, directly or indirectly?”

“Steven” Pearl tried to console him, “it’s not like we don’t want you to enjoy yourself, but our whole nation, Crystalline’s safety on the line. You need to act responsibly”

“Yeah and Steven, the new two-player game’s releasing next month. Someone’s got the steal the light, or else it would be an embarrassment to see only ten thousand points as the highest score” Amethyst tried to lift his spirits, but it only worked upto an extent.

Truth be told, he didn’t want a single bit to go home that early, even if he was a little homesick. And there were many, yet powerful reasons including, um, you know what. He inhaled deeply, trying to ration his thoughts, but true to his nature, his heart often overtakes his mind. But then it drifted back to his episode of meltdown. If he showed even a slight expression of anger or such behaviour all three would force him to come home that instant (even though it would be for the better, and he knew). He said as firmly as he could-

“Okay, I’ll be there in a month. Do you need anything special? Anything at all?”

Amethyst quipped, “OOOH Steven bring me some of those hot chilli stuff, and one of those clay pots, and-“

“Amethyst darling, we ought to leave now. It’s night-time there and he needs to be well rested” she pecked her cheek. Amethyst looked flustered, almost wanting to hide the obvious effect the kiss had on her.

“Uh, that’s why I call you the ‘fun police’” she groaned, her face still red. Steven chuckled at that. “Catch ya later, dude!”

“Goodbye, Steven”

“Bye guys”

He shut down his laptop, and plopped on his bed. A few tears rolled down his cheeks. For him, the reason that he couldn’t stay with Connie longer was heartbreaking enough, the fact that the huge burden of his people- as Crystalline’s under-aged prince- would return in full force was more than he could bear. He tried so hard to be the strong, wise prince everyone expects him to be, but after a certain point, even he reaches his limits. Ever since he was young, he had been exposed to several attacks towards him just because he had been lucky enough to be the only son of his late mother Rose Quartz, the ruler who under that angelic saving face had destroyed many key allies in her rampage to do ‘goog’ (sometimes, he wondered if she actually did something great at all for humanity’s sake, or was there always an underlying motive of evilness?). Those enemies were on Steven’s throat on the time, trying to capture him for ransom or kill him to declare Crystalline as theirs. For years he had intensely trained day and night enough to strain every single one of his muscles for protection when he didn’t even know what he had to protect himself from. He didn’t have a clue why they were after him; he was kept in the shadows. At age fifteen, when things started getting a little out of hand, his father had to turn him in to his intended position, as a part of the royal lineage of Crystalline. It was a long and complicated story of how exactly his mother gave up her status to live with a peasant, but as far as he was concerned, he had no choice. His guardians told him the ways of royalty, and things started to get downhill. Now, for what seemed like the first time he was actually taking a break and it had to hamper because of a reason he didn’t have control over.

_I am my mother’s son. I am the son of Rose Quartz, who saved Crystalline._

_Why did it feel so disturbing?_

He felt as if he were about to relapse. His body trembled, his breath started to get more ragged by every second. His awful memories started to flow in dwindling waves, and he clenched the bedsheets. He could not lose control, not then. His father was about to return any minute.

He stumbled his way through all the clothes strewn on the floor and reached the balcony. He grabbed a flower pot. It was small, and didn’t look of much worth. With an ear-splitting scream he broke in into pieces, threw it down across the road nearby, into the woods. The parts that were left pierced his skin, and a little blood escaped his tissues. It felt better that way.

A buzz of his phone interrupted his internal storm. It was from his dad. It was also a picture message. He slid it open. The text read- Is this Connie?

He hurriedly clicked the picture, cursing every second it took to load. Once it did, he could see her. His father was surprisingly correct. It was a pure candid picture. She was laughing while holding a pail, into which the shopkeeper, a young woman, was pouring milk. Her eyes were closed and her smile showed her teeth, shining bright. Maybe there were some tainted glass displays nearby, because the light shining on her was coloured, making her look more beautiful than she already was. Looking at her hands, one firmly on the pail and one near her face, it reminded him of the times that same skin was on his, and he felt serene. A last message came on his screen-

You sure chose a pretty one! ;)

He smiled. He sure did.

* * *

A few days passed since that incident. Connie and Steven were if not strange, a little different towards each other. Connie was the cutest flirt. She would occasionally wink at him, and smile a smile so sinister, it would scream ‘See if you can resist this!’ And Steven was none the less of a tease than her. Whenever he would see a particularly jovial or compelling sight, he would often take her by the waist and twirl her around, like a love dancer. It would surprise her, but she would skilfully hide her tomato-coloured cheeks. It was as if she was a professional at this, hiding her affection for him while internally swooning at him. And, did I mention the fact that their hands almost never let go? Their hands were attached most of the duration, and their fingers would intertwine on instinct. It seemed so habitual, it was bizzare.

But, Connie also knew her exam season was approaching, and she needed to keep her head in the game. She had to prove her parents that she was worthy of being independent and successful by achieving great marks and high ranks. If her day was not occupied by Steven, she would shut down every part of her body that sparked wherever he would have touched last and focus. She would study for hours till end, completely unaware of her surroundings, her hunger, or the fact that she probably needs sleep.

And when her mind took a break, only one face would come to her mind, and she would do into her stupor so intensely it would make herself embarrassed. Her mind would also debate if she would have taken the plunge that night and leaned closer, and touch…oh my gosh! It made her shy just thinking about it. She thought herself insane for feeling that. Her hands would cover face and she would pray to all that’s above that her parents weren’t nearby her room to hear her shrieks muffled by the pillows.

That day, Steven was almost about to peck her cheek, and she was sure of it. When she took him to one of the old cinemas to show him its architecture, they saw a poster of one of the Bollywood classics. Although Connie always enjoyed the entertainment those films provided, she thought the expectations of marrying true love and stuff was too unrealistic. Steven, with a sudden surge of courage, leaned and whispered in her ear “The beauty is also unrealistic. In real life, I can bet there are girls more beautiful than her” When he was starting to pull away, his lips lingered just a beat right over her cheek, and then he shyly looked away. Connie may not be a genius at this stuff, but she knew. And the thought made her feel on cloud nine, or maybe even more. Like cloud bajillion (if that even was something)

_The world seemed to revolve around her. Nothing could break her trance._

_ “Kahani, we need to talk” _

**_And her word came to a jarring halt._ **

She readied herself, that is, smoothened her skirt and pushed all Steven-y thoughts from her head. She bowed her head down and obediently walked towards the living room. Her parents were sitting on the sofa.

 _“Kahani, sit down”_ her mother ordered.

She sat on the chair farthest from them. She kept her hands on her thighs, head still slightly bent. She allowed her hair to cover her face, and hence her expressions.

_ “How are your exam preparations going?” _

_ “Fine, mother. I have completed maths and sciences” _

_“And what about the rest?”_ her father inquired

 _“Halfway through the fourth revision, father”_ she spoke timidly. Her parents seemed to be holding grins of satisfaction.

 _“You must score the top rank this year. This time, the whole youth of India will be competing against you. You must give our family a proud name”_ her mother said, sternly.

 _“Yes, mother. I will go back to studying”_ she spoke in a desperate attempt to retreat to her abode.

_ “Wait Kahani! Do you think that we would only call you for telling you to study, and let go without any good news?” _

_“N-n-no, father_ ” she sat back down, wondering if the ‘good news’ was actually worth happiness or not.

 _“Kahani, this is truly a wondrous day for us”_ her mother’s tone seemed to get more cheerful by the second. Connie was anticipating what was to come.

_ “Yes, and we are so joyful that we’ve already brought sweets for all relatives” _

Connie’s eyes widened, and she prayed, hoped, wished desperately in wasn’t the moment she’s feared her whole life. The news that would seal the breakdown of her what seems to the society to be insipid dreams. The words that would break her as easily as a slight fall on porcelain doll. Like a glass shattering into millions of pathetic shards.

**_ “We’ve chosen a suitable groom for you” _ **

She tensed up visibly, and shielded her face as much as she could. The tears were on the brink of spilling out, and so was her composure. She clenched her hands into fists, and she managed to sniff inaudibly. She wanted all but to look into their eyes at that very moment. The parents misjudged her reactions-

 _“Oh Priyanka! Look at our girl, already shying”_ her father awed.

Priyanka continued “ _The groom’s family was always interested in smart, able girls. They think their status would increase. Our status would increase. And did I mention that they’re oh so rich? They found our Kahani very intellectual and pretty. Hey Rama! What blessings have you bestowed upon us! We’re eternally grateful”_ her mother joined her hands and mused.

Connie was speechless. She wanted to escape, and run away from this horrible mess. Her parents voice of praise were a blur in her ears, occasionally hearing the sound ‘smart’, ‘suitable’ and one time, even ‘kids’. She almost fell apart like Jenga blocks when toyed with shaky hands, and she murmured

 _“Excuse me_ ” and ran towards her room.

She bolted the door. Endless streams of tears rushed down her face. When she fell into her bed, she could feel something intruding the skin of her ankle. She picked it up. It was the trinklet. Sightly rusted, but still sparkling from its beauty. The flowers reminded her of the one near the stream, where they almost...Her mind clouded even more. How could she even think that she had a chance with him?

She was a woman, for fuck’s sake. Especially Priyanka and Doug Maheshwaran’s daughter. How could she even fathom being with Steven under the roof of her parents’ overly careful watches. Her whole world seemed to crumble. Her mother knocked on her door

_ “Kahani?” _

She wiped the tears and as firmly as she could, answered _“Yes?”_

“ _The boy’s family are supposed to come home to meet you next week. Do you need any new clothes?”_

She couldn’t care less about her clothes.

_ “No, mother, I have some good ones” _

She left.

Connie trotted towards her desk, and opened the topmost drawer. There lay one of her most prized possessions. Articles from top female scientists, engineers, doctors, artists and whatnot. Her greated inspirations, her farthest targets. She longed to be one of the celebrated personalities, to share her genius with the world, to inspire. She wanted to come out in flying colours and follow her dreams like her favourite stories always assured her should to fulfil those. Her plethora of certificates, medals and trophies of all her academics (and some co-curricular) feats were also in there, and those were what motivated her to move forward, study harder, know more. She knew once she is married the moment she turns eighteen, her freedom will be snatched away from her (presuming it already isn’t fully). She wanted to cry, bawl, but couldn’t for the life of her let her parents hear her glaringly obvious disapproval. Her world started to fall into despair, like she was about to loose her grip on the last steps of the crooked ladder she'd been holding on to. Her father came that time

_ “Kahani?” _

_ “Yes father?” _

_ “I want you to invite your three friends. One of them is the blacksmith, right?” _

Connie affirmed his statement.

_ “Make sure she makes an appearance. Couldn’t care less about the other two but one of them is a teacher and the other, what was she again?” _

_ “A dancer” _

_ “Yes, a dancer. We have to showcase whatever piece of impressiveness we can” _

_ “Yes, father” _

_ “Kahani, come out please” _

Connie wiped her tear stained face and put on a very convincing face. It was hard at this point.

Her father cupped her face in his hands, and tenderly looked at her.

_ “My daughter Kahani, how you’ve grown into such a wonderful, young lady! I am sure you’ll bring honour to our house. At least we’ll have something to show to my brother’s faces. Good luck studying” _

She opened her book of History and started revising. Cramming the dates were a tedious job as it was, it didn’t help that her tears kept blurring her vision. She couldn’t study like that.

She decided to step out. And she knew exactly the people to go to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!  
> So,um, yeah this is pretty much the main background of the plot this would revolve into. Not much Connverse, but these struggles will let their pairing shine more.  
> Now for all the people who somehow remain in the dark with these happenings-  
> Not only in India, possibly everywhere women are regarded inferior, weak, and just pretty housewives and carriers for kids. While being housewives isn't a degrading job at all (I believe it's great that mothers/fathers want to stay home as caretakers), I believe it just isn't the job for Connie. Even during that proposal scene, I kinda wished she said no, because seeing how she is, she isn't the tie down and marry kind of personality. That's why her sadness also include her dreams getting crumbled. So yeah, everywhere women are somewhat forced to marry or even have thoughts of marriage at tenders ages, just because they are considered as burdens and stuff. This issue will be discussed in more depth later on, because with all the romantic stuff too, I wanted this fic to be a medium for people to know what kind of problems people face. I'm very lucky enough to have parents who always vouch for my best interests and keep my passions ever-burning, but I can't say the same about people even in my peer group.  
> The next chapters I'll be bragging about this more so pls bear with me ;)
> 
> Also, I couldn't for the life of me think any name close to Doug, so please tell me some and I might edit that into the story ;)  
> Also, I have added a Pearl/Amethyst tag, but they'll be more evident later on. Enjoy the Connverse and soon to come Lapidot till then :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of stuff goes down here

“Steven, we need to-“

“Connie, let’s go to that-“

“Steven, please I need-“

“Oh yeah, you need something from the market place? Yup, we’ll go there. And maybe even meet that old-“

“Steven-“

He started to drag her through the crowd of people near the fort. Connie thought that if she had to play guide for one last time (if that was what she was doing earlier, rather than using it as an excuse to get closer to him), she should take him to the fort. The fort was made of baked clay like many of the ones he’d seen before. She astounded him yet again by telling him a deep account of that fort’s history (she had woken up till one reading about it, but he doesn’t have to know) One similar structure he remembered was made from marble and had the most alluring mosaic work of gemstones (the whole art was called pietradura). It fuelled his interest about gemstones a lot more.

“Come on Connie, we don’t have much time on our hands and-“

“STEVEN!” Connie almost shrieked A few people halted. She lead him out of the mild yet present crowd and tugged him closer, so that her lips were next to his ears.

“I’ve been trying to tell you something this whole morning, so please listen to me” she hissed harshly.

Steven would have taken her a lot more seriously if her lips weren’t slightly brushing his lobe.

“What happened?” he chuckled in his own charming way. He nudged her waist.

Connie would have taken it more light-heartedly if she didn’t have such awry news.

“Steven…” she held his hand. She thought it was best if she gave him the news like that. God knows if she’ll ever experience that wondrous touch of his slightly rough hands again.

“I wanted to tell you something”

Steven, after looking at her grave face, turned serious himself. He saw her mumbling and fumbling, and hoped it didn’t hold any displeasing news.

“Steven…I had a lot of fun with you these days” she started on a more- pleasing – note. Steven nodded.

“But, you know…” she debated whether or not to tell him. If she told him that she was to be betrothed to someone else she didn’t even know of, it would be crushing news (for her more than him), but at least he wouldn’t ever come back. She wouldn’t have to deal with her feelings coming in her way to doom, as wrong as it sounded. She couldn’t bear seeing him again and again and not quite getting as close as she wanted to the most amazing teenage traveller.

Pining for him was better from afar than from close.

She couldn’t. She just couldn’t. She had to tell him.

But, a very notorious side, a naughty part, a side that is very absurd for even she doesn’t know if it means good or bad at times, wanted her to hide it. Wanted her to challenge him, to see how far he could go to assure that she be with him. To see how far could he go to know what keeps her from being with him. She slightly shook her head, and clarified her thoughts.

She decided, breathed out, and whispered-

“My examinations are coming up. I have to study. I have to get a good rank. We have to stop meeting each other”

Steven’s heart stopped for a split second. He wanted it to be a prank. Starts, he wanted this to be false. He halted for a few moments, anticipating Connie to say something on the lines of ‘Ha! Fooled ya’ . But no avail. Her head was bent, and her voice was shaky.

“You’re joking, right? Please tell me you’re joking” he held her hands tighter, never wanting to leave their grasp.

“No, Steven. This is goodbye”

_Leave. Just leave._

She separated and took a few steps backwards. Steven tugged at her arms.

“Wait, they can’t last a whole month, right?”

“You’re leaving then?” she whispered, barely audible. But he caught it.

“Maybe…”

“Yes, my examinations will go on till then. And I can’t meet you till they get over.”

Steven tried to rack his brains faster than her footsteps, which were slowly turning into a brisk walk and then a run. He rushed up to her

“I can come by to your house”

Her eyes widened in horror.

_No-no-no-no-no._

“NO! Steven anything BUT coming near my parents”

“Why?”

“Must I tell you everything?? Is it illegal for me to keep some things secret?”

“But Connie I can help. If there’s anything I can-“

“Steven, I’ve only known you for three weeks. I can’t trust you with personal information. You won’t understand, I-“

“You what, Connie? I know my way around words enough to know it isn’t about exams anymore! What is it about your guardians, huh?” his voice started to get louder.

“So what if it isn’t about studies, huh? Steven, I just went with you to guide you. To give you knowledge of this place because you’re a tourist. Be thankful I didn’t charge you for the time you’ve taken off my schedule” she spoke harshly, scolding him. It was almost evil they way her eyes glinted.

_Stop. Kahani stop._

“We’ve seen enough of this city and more. It’s time we part ways. We both have our own lives” her voice slowly started to crumble, but not a bit evident to his ears

 _Seriously Kahani, stop_.

“So our rela- friendship didn’t mean anything to you? The fun, the food, the dance, the stream, it didn’t matter?”

Connie inhaled deeply, and said painfully against her will-

“It never did to me”

Her heart ached. Her conscience was smacking her on the head then, causing her thoughts whirl around her head indefinitely.

“Have a nice time, Steven”

And she ran away, leaving a heartbroken Steven just standing there.

* * *

“AAAUGGGHH” Steven cried. He picked yet another rock from where he stood, and tried throwing it to pluck that fruit from the tree across the river. It didn’t really serve a purpose, seeing that he wouldn’t get the fruit, but it was a nice, totally safe, anger channelling distraction. He used all his strength to fling it as far and accurately as he could, always missing by a few or more inches.

“Your trajectory is way off” a nasal voice was heard. He didn’t turn back to see who it was, but had an intuition he might have heard that person before.

“Yeah? Wow, maybe you can do better than me” he answered in annoyance, kicking a pebble into the water.

“I’m around 95.6% sure I can” she said, and stepped beside him. He got a good look at her.

“Oh, hello…um…Paara-hee-do, was it?” he tried to recall.

“Your accent is simply atrocious. But yes, that’s me”

“So, um, how are you-“

“Pshhh” Paraido kept a finger on his lips. She turned towards the water. “I need to concentrate”

One eye closed, her hand adjusted to where she must toss that rock. After a few swings of her arm she flung it, the stone hitting the fruit but not quite plucking it. She needed a bit more power. Steven applauded

“Wow, Paraido! I am impressed”

She bowed. “Why thank you Steven”

Steven face turned sour again. He continued pitching the pebbles and twigs aimlessly, deep in thought. Paraido started

“So, Kahani told you about that news huh?”

“I don’t know. She told me that but I feel like she’s hiding something”

“What’s there to hide?” she took off her slippers and sat on a rock. She dipped her feet into the cool water. “She’s getting married. What’s more to reveal?”

“She **_WHAT_**?” Steven shrieked in shock. She must be joking, right?

“She is getting married, simple as that”

“ **WHAT**?” His hands pulled on his hair, fisting them in his hands. So she didn’t need him after all. Of course, who was he kidding! He was a mere tourist, and she probably had a multitude of better looking and stronger boys for her on silver platters. To think that she meant him when she said she believed in love….

“So she just led me on?”

“I don’t think so. Knowing Kahani, she must have actually harboured feelings for you, even if they were friendly ones. She doesn’t have a choice, you see. Her parents chose a rich boy for her, who wants a smart girl to show off how ‘noble’ they are and publicize. They’ll be arriving next week. Lajuli, Bijmuth and I have to go there too, for ‘show off’ purposes. But, we don’t mind, because it might be better if we are there for her then.”

“Oh yeah, she told me about this no-choice thing.” He said in remembrance.

Paraido tapped on a rock beside her, motioning him to sit down. “Dip your feet in here. The water’s perfectly cool”

He did as he was told. She was right. The water was indeed very cold, but it did freshen him. He could feel the moss tickling his sole.

“But why does she want me to stay away from her? Why the excuses? It’s not that I’ll-“

“Listen, Steven” Paraido said, holding him by his shoulders “Figure it out on your own, okay. I’ve got to go and buy some stuff for home. Just came here for some fresh air” she reached out into her bag “Here, enjoy a mango, they’ll not be available after a week”

He sucked on the fruit and thought of a plan. Paraido’s words replayed in his mind. Luckily for him, he got just the idea he needed.

His new friend was making her way across the small boulders, almost slipping off of some. He reached his hand out for her. She mumbled her gratitude.

“Listen, can I ask for a favour…” he spoke, and Paraido’s interest piqued. He whispered in her ears. When she heard the full plan, she initially gasped in dismay, but then started giggling.

“You know this is crazy, right? How can you even think-“

“Believe me, this is the perfect idea, and I’m sure it’ll work”

“I’ll think upon it, but don’t hold your breath” he swayed her hand in dismissal. He worked out his details a little. A last question came into his mind-

“Paraido?”

“What _now_?” she grumbled in annoyance. Doesn’t he have other things to do rather than cling onto her?

“You’re old. How come you never got married? And Lajuli, and Bijmuth?” Maybe he could use their tricks to ensure-

“Yes, all three of us are not married. But those are three long stories, and I don’t have even a single clue about one of them. _Alvida, Steven_ ” and just like that, she jogged away. Steven was left deep in his own thoughts, before his cellphone rang.

“Hey Stchu-ball, where are you?”

“Hey dad, I’ll be back in ten! Listen, I have to ask you for something…”

* * *

* * *

“Kahani? Do you need my help?” her mother called. Kahani thought about ways by which she could look less appealing to their eyes. But, much to her dismay, this dress was indeed made for someone like her. It was a lehnga, which is basically a classic Indian two piece- a blouse and a long skirt. This one was light blue, and had a beautifully intricate floral pattern on it, with faux gold lace. It matched her tone flawlessly, and she looked royal, like a princess. And intellectual, wonderful princess. If that day wasn’t that gloomy, she would probably have danced with in it in her room. She was doused with heaps of make-up, which probably was very unnecessary, but if it meant that it may seem revolting, she could do with that. A set of hefty jewellery adorned her, well, everywhere. From bangles to a huge uncomfortable necklace to earrings that pulled on her ears unbearably, she wore it all. He looked at herself one final time in the mirror. Her friends would be entering her house any moment. Her gaze shifted to the table, where the trinklet sat. Her eyes welled up in tears, but it was probably for the best she blinked them back, or else her * _kajal_ would smear all over her face. No one should get wrong ideas.

It had been a week since she last saw him. She purposefully roamed the markets to run errands which her parents would normally do, just to get a last glimpse of him. She did seem to notice him, but he was talking on his phone, completely ignoring her. It pained her, but she shook it off. She had no right or reason to feel now.

Still, the need to feel a part of him drove her to hold it in her hands. She ran her fingers across its length; wanting to relish the imaginary yet amazing feeling of something only he can make her feel. She bit her lip, and looked everywhere. Once she knew she was in privacy, she wore it around her ankle. She didn’t know why, but it felt right. She felt better. It also helped that she was sure no one would notice, for it would hide under the excruciatingly long and dense skirt.

She heard someone greet her parents.

_ “Namaste. How are you doing kind sir and ma’am?” _

“ _Great! Oh Lajuli, you look so beautiful”_ anyone could hear feigned element in her mother's compliment. But knowing Lajuli, she must have let it slide.

_ “Thank you ma’am. We’re so honoured to be here on such an auspicious occasion. As a token of appreciation, we brought you a gift” _

_“Here, miss Maheshwaran_ ” she heard Bijmuth boom. She wished Bijmuth would talk to her like they did before and not go something on the lines of 'I told you so'. It would shatter her. She was curious as to what was inside the gift they gave.

“ _Oh, who else have you brought? Paraido? I told you-“_ her mother wailed, perturbed.

_ “Relax, miss. I believe he would be an asset. He is from abroad, you see. How beneficial would you think it might be. You know, I’ve heard from Kahani the boy you chose is from a good house, and very rich. Don’t you think it might be to our advantage if they know we have international relations?” _

Her eyes widened in dismay. It can’t be…

“Steven Universe, at your service Mrs. Maheshwaran”

Oh god no.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!  
> *kajal is kohl.  
> Yeah I know this chapter was admittedly short and not worth posting now, but I had to do it 'cause a lot of stuff has been happening which has been seriously testing my limits (who would've thought it would be in quarantine) like homework, high level online classes, and some personal issues I've had the time to address to myself recently. I think the free time has allowed me reflect on life a little, and some major regrets and stuff have surfaced. Regardless, I really wanted to add another scene, but seeing there are chances I'll have to fish out a lot of time from a packed schedule I fear I might lose the flow. And moreover, I have to polish my research on the whole 'meeting scene' and wanted to dedicate an entire chapter to the drama. So yeah, hope you understand
> 
> So it's my request to please not lose interest (if you haven't already) and stay tuned! A lot of uncovering is to be done!!
> 
> And thanks for all the love I have been receiving till now. I am eternally grateful and it lifts me in a better mood and encourages me to continue!!
> 
> Love,  
> :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Awkward.

Awkward.

That’s what you feel when you sit with the person you are destined to marry and the person you want to marry. That’s what our little ball of sunshine Kahani-urf- Connie Maheshwaran was experiencing. The parents were busy showing off the aspects of their children, even though she knew there are not many factors that will stop this relation to happen. She peered around.

Her game of gazes began then.

First her eyes met with her friends. Bijmuth was looking out of the window, her face ceasing to a frown. Connie stared at her intently, wanting to catch her eyes, but she was completely lost in her own head. Paraido gave her a wistful look, and mouthed the word sorry. She didn’t know what she was sorry for, until Paraido’s eyes shifted towards the foreign boy. Connie didn’t want to look at him, for she knew if she started, she wouldn’t stop. So her eyes swiftly met with Lajuli’s who also was looking a bit constipated. When she saw Connie, she gave her the same piteous look Paraido gave. All three of them were sad to see their precious younger sister sad.

Kahani was not doing a good job in resisting the temptation to look at Steven. From what she did see, he was wearing an Indian sherwani, but she never really saw his face. She realized she hadn’t seen the other boy at all. To avoid any suspicion, she decided to take a glimpse of him.

She knew his name was Kumar. At least that’s what his parents called him. She was sure that Kumar is more of a surname, but she couldn’t care less in all honesty. The boy himself was not bad looking at all. He was mostly clean shaven, but traces of a moustache were to be seen. He was also relatively fair, although she didn’t know why her brain had to point that out. She couldn’t care less about skin colour, nationality, race or anything. Their eyes met, and he had a slight predatory look on his face, or so she thought. She turned her head to look as if she were embarrassed but truthfully, she just wanted to look away from him. Not because of repulsiveness, but because her desire to see a certain someone else alluring her.

A surge of confidence allowed her to meet his expectant eyes, and when they did, she wished they didn’t. On the outset he looked fairly handsome. But he looked so heartbroken, as if his life was taken away from his eyes. Connie wanted to engulf him in an embrace then and there, to comfort him. She was bewildered why he was down looking at her like that, but her thoughts were cut when her mother told her to serve everyone some snacks. She went to the kitchen, and took a deep breath. She recollected herself. It was hard to, but then again, she had to. A shaky hand with firm fingertips held the tray, and she proceeded. They others were still talking, so she didn’t acknowledge much when she did serve them, but when yours truly’s turn came, she was almost petrified. Their eyes met again, and he softly whispered

“Can I talk to you later?”

Connie heard it, but pretended not to have. She swiftly sat back down, and prayed for all of that to get over soon.

“Kahani, why don’t you talk to him?” her mother asked. She nodded like the obedient little girl she was. She stepped out with him.

Steven hated the very thought of her being completely alone with another boy. His knuckles were turning pale white from holding his pants too long, but Paraido held his and glanced at him, her eyes pleading him to calm down. He sighed with gritted teeth, and hoped no one looked at him as he glared at the very door leading to the balcony where they were.

“ _So, Kahani, right?”_ he asked. His voice was deep, a little luxurious.

 _“Mhm”_ she nodded.

 _“How are you?”_ he asked cordially. She answered a low “ _Fine_ ”. Her eyes kept looking away from him and towards the horizon. The sun was about to set, painting the sky in a myriad of purple, red and orange.

“ _I think this might be new to you, so I’ll just say- best of luck for your exams. I hope you score well, for your sake_ ” she nodded, but didn’t speak a word herself.

They kept looking at the sunset. There was a fair amount of distance between them. She leaned over the balcony, now gazing at the rustling trees. Kumar scooted closer to her, and pointed towards a particularly massive one. “ _Neem_ ” he said “ _A very beneficial tree. Looking from the angle of your house, it is the best place to hide”_

She froze. Did he…?

“ _Why are you telling me this_?” she asked, defensively.

 _“A person simply cannot have enough places for playing hide and seek now can they?”_ he chuckled, and motioned her to come inside. She was left befuddled in her head.

The night came, and she took off those horrid, overloaded stuff she had. It was not how it looked that was horrid, but rather how she felt in them. Slipping into a more comfortable one, she slid into her bed, pulling the covers over her and reading a book. She engrossed in it, putting herself in the character’s shoes, and the climax was approaching. One more page and she might found out who the killer was…

_Knock knock._

An irritated sigh escaped her lips. She threw the blanket on the floor and stomped towards the door. She opened it, but no one was there. And her parents weren’t the pranking type for certain.

 _Knock Knock_.

She realised she had been moving towards the wrong direction the whole time. Her ears reacted to the sound again, and she went towards the source. She was confused, though. The only place that is knock-able in her room is…

“Steven! What are you doing here?!?” she hissed. She wanted to scream, but parental warning was there.

“Well I-“

“Shhhh” she kept a finger on his lips. She frantically ushered him inside. He dusted off the sirt right onto her bed, but she didn’t seem to notice. She kept a hand on his cheek, and he leaned into her touch

“Steven,” she cooed, sweetly. He was waiting was an action equally as sweet, like a kis-

**_WHAM!_ **

He rubbed his face, wincing.

“What was that for?” he half shrieked. Her hand imprinted his face. He definitely was NOT expecting a tight slap. 

“That was for coming in earlier today. Who even invited you there?”

“Her name starts with a P” he smirked.

“Of course” she said, exasperated. Her fingers combed through her open hair. “Why did you come, though?”

"Um...." she shook that part off. Better not to talk about the evening.

"And why did you come here now? You know I don't want you anywhere near my parents!"

"I told you I wanted to see you. Didn't you hear me?"

"I don't care, why are you here? What is so important that you're endangering both me and you?"

“Isn’t it obvious?” he stepped closer to her. They were still whispering.

“What is?”

He halted. A part of him really wanted to tell her how he was slowly falling for her. How dove into a pool of bliss every time he just so as to even look at her. But, even if the best case scenario happened and she reciprocated his feelings, it wouldn’t work. Even if she will be in his arms they will be separated by endless rigid walls. Of course, that is to say if she admired even a little of the messed up boy he was.

“ _That I really like you. Do you?_ ” he said, dangerously close to the real thing. His hands held her in a feathery touch. He wanted to know then, just like he did those few days ago, but even more desperately.

Connie was shocked. Time stopped and went faster than ever in an instant. It was all coming true, like half of what she ever wanted for the past few days was coming true. It was surreal, and her whole face burned up. She wanted to spill everything she had in her, but couldn’t word it. She wanted to disclose the robust feelings she had been feeling these past few weeks…

Until reality crashed down on her, and she did the only reasonable thing that came to her mind.

_“Of course I like you too, you’re my friend”_

And his heart shattered.

“Now go before someone sees you here. Seriously you couldn’t have chosen a better time for this? It’s like Romeo and Juliet cliché” she said, not having quite a control on her words. Maybe he could catch a hint there? She shoved him down the ladder he came from, and before she shut the window she heard him scream

“I’ll be back for you”

And later, clutching her pillow, she really hoped he would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!!  
> Hope you enjoyed this!   
> Please leave comments and kudos! I love to hear your reviews.  
> And of course, stay safe everyone!!!!


	7. Chapter 7

Steven climbed down the ladder with a painful grunt when he landed as his foot twisted. He limped for a bit, holding his ankle and moaning in pain. He tried walking again. It was painful, but it could suffice.

_Oww, ouch!_

Maybe not, but it was his only option.

Being close to a residential area near the forest in almost pitch dark night didn’t provide for many rickshaws or other travel arrangements he could use. His inn was not more than a kilometre away, but it pained to move much. So he jumped in excitement when he heard a bell ring and the sounds of wheels. Of course, to leap is certainly not the best idea when walking at a stone’s throw was a taxing task at itself, so he tumbled backwards, and fell horribly. A thick hand reached out to him. At first he got eerily suspicious. Were you supposed to trust strangers in the dark who try to help you without any word? The memory of how Connie was nearly in death’s arms the last time they pulled such a stunt, and he recoiled.

“Come on Steven, you know me”

“Bijmuth…” he whispered, clearly confused at the prospect of her helping him. Nevertheless, he took her hand and sat in her wagon.

“Um, thanks for saving me. I didn’t know how far I could go with this” he started awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

“Don’t mention it” she replied, almost in a monotone.

“So, um, what brings you here?” he smacked himself inwardly for that. Why is he being so nosy?

“To get you, of course”

“Wait how did you-“

“Intuition” she answered simply, not looking towards him for a second. She took a turn.

“W-wait! That’s a wrong turn”

“No, this is correct, just a long turn”

“Why are you taking me through this?”

“You guess; you seem to be smart”

Steven pondered on this for a few silent moments until in clicked.

“You want to…talk to me?”

“Yes”

“Okay then, go on”

“Wait till we reach where we have to talk”

Bijmuth eventually parked her wagon beneath a tree. It had some flowers, though many of them had wilted.

“Okay, so-“

“Well, the police threw that rascal that attacked you two behind bars today”

“You took me all this way to say this?”

“What do you think?” she challenged.

“I don’t know” he replied in bewilderment.

“Well then listen carefully to me Steven, and don’t interrupt” she said sternly, Steven nodded his head, kept a finger on his lips, and intently listened.

“Look, unlike you believe, I don’t hate you. I don’t even dislike you. I don’t even think you’re a bad person. I believe you’re a wonderful young man”

Somehow, it came as a surprise to Steven. But he didn’t show it.

“And I also love Kahani, so its best if you stay away from her” she got up after making her point, indicating the conversation over.

“No, why are you saying that?” he shook his head in disapproval.

“Listen Steven, this place is so wonderful. The colourful cultures, customs, deeply rooted stories, it is my home. It’s also Lajuli and Paraido’s home. It’s also Kahani’s home. I know you like her,”

“Wait-“

“AND” her voice raised, showing that she did not like him cutting her off “she also likes you very much” (he blushed deeply at that) “But, you can’t do this. Whatever you’re trying to do- trying to help her or whatever, think boy, so what if it works in the slightest? You’ll be gone someday, and who’ll have to deal with the effects of what you’d do if it takes a wrong turn? Well, your beloved Kahani”

“But she’s already suffering”

“You think we don’t know that” she said, her voice a tad louder “you think we care for her so little not to have tried to fish out solutions? Almost none of them work, Steven. But there is one single path that does”

“Well, what is it?”

“That’s none of your concern”

“Why not” he pressed, a little offended “you say you’re sure that we both like each other, and now you’re not telling me her escape”

“What does it matter to you traveller?” she screamed, swinging her hands to stress upon her words “you weren’t there when she was young and carefree and she got reality’s biggest hit. You weren’t there when she was held back from many things she liked like arts. And you certainly won’t be here when she’ll face worse. You think I’m a fool advising you?” she stood up threateningly “I’ve experienced similar stuff. And now, I’ll never meet anyone like Pe- her” her cheeks flushed “she’s gone forever. And I was crushed”

“Who are you talking about?” he inquired

“Again, none of your business” she punched a nearby tree.

“The more you get closer to her, the more she’ll get attached. Once you go home, she’ll be devastated. I don’t want that to hold her potential back. Please Steven, if not for me, do it for her” she pleaded, clasping her hands around his.

He sighed dejectedly “Okay, I’ll try…”

A contended hum escaped her lips. She picked him up and kept him inside the wagon again. For the rest of the journey, not a slight sound escaped their lips.

* * *

“Amethyst, you know a lot of my time will be spent on the computer talking to Steven and there’s so much to do” a slender lady said in annoyance.

“Come on P, you never spend time with me anymore! And there are like, ten minutes until he calls”

“Exactly, we can use that time for many preparations-“

“No one’s gonna attack if you take a break. Cut yourself some slack P. You know it can help you” she twirled her hair; almost sure she had won this round.

“Fine” Pearl admitted; rolling her eyes before letting it set fondly at the chubby woman’s face. A tall finger tucked a strand of hair covering her eyes behind her ears.

“Come here you,” Amethyst said, blushing a deep red and pulling Pearl close to her, their bodies pressing against each others.

A firm hand on her waist, another one to her face, her eyes lovingly half lidded, their lips were getting increasingly closer by the second…

“Amethyst, Pearl, Garnet? Where are you?”

Pearl pushed Amethyst away hard before running towards the screen. Amethyst followed suit.

“Hey guys! What happened to you both?” he asked with concern

“What? Nothing” Pearl supplied

“Your faces are red” he said innocently. A small cough came from Amethyst; while Pearl shook her hand dismissively and nervously “Maybe it’s the light. Regardless, how are you?” she tried changing the topic.

“Oh okay” he tried to look as cool as possible

“Okay Steven” Amethyst started “I know my dude well enough to be sure that you’re not okay”

“Yeah, it’s just that- nothing. Oh how’s Crystalline?” he used the same trick.

Pearl, ever patriotic and proud of her kingdom, cheered “Oh Steven! You won’t believe what I just improved upon. Remember those slowly degrading canon machines I’ve told you about? Well, I-“

“Hold on Pearl. Hey Steve-O, cut the crap and tell us what’s wrong”

Steven remained hesitant. He kept stuttering but no words came out. Pearl desperately asked him to open up. It hurts her to see him not trust them.

Amethyst seemed as if she had just conceived an idea

“Steven, if you tell us, we promise we won’t tell Garnet”

Steven’s eyes widened. Maybe this was a better alternative.

“Okay, so I kinda did some unprecedented stuff” luckily they didn’t press more “And now I really should be away from Connie, at least that’s was Bijmuth told me, but you know I don’t exactly wanna”

He looked up to the screen and saw Pearl with her hands over her mouth, and Amethyst patting her on the back. She gave him a questioning look

“Um, Pearl, is everything-“

“Oh sorry, how selfish of me. You see, once I met a girl with a similar name. She was so wonderful” she said wistfully. Amethyst looked very concerned

“What happened?”

“Oh, you know” she let her arms wrap around her waist and pull her closer for comfort“nothing. We had to part ways. I wish I could meet her. We had a few…unresolved things”

Amethyst and Steven looked at each other, both knowing not to press any further

“I remember she always used to have that hammer in her pocket! She really got me out of a huge situation with that one. She was one of the best friends I ever had”

“Better than me?” Amethyst cooed, faking jealousy.

Pearl couldn’t let Steven hear that she knew Amethyst was much more than a friend in her eyes. So she deflected,

“I don’t know. She was large and bulky and had brown curly hair”

Steven started to see a connection with the woman he had met and the one Pearl described

“Well, the one I know does not have a tattoo anywhere!” he said as non-suspiciously as he could. Maybe…

“Oh yeah, she did have a tattoo done with me once. On her arm, I think. It was of an anvil with a rose”

Steven suddenly put two and two together. He asked further,

“So, um where was she from”

“I don’t remember. From one of the Asian countries I think. We meet in the convention I went to a few years back” she said, trying to remember.

“Okay well, Pearl, Amethyst, I’ve got to go” he said hurriedly. A wave of tiredness had hit him.

“Wait, Steven, we also had a message to deliver to you”

Steven huffed in annoyance “Go on with it then”

“Amethyst, read it out” Pearl ordered

“Ahem” she cleared her throat “Tell Steven to” she started in a monotone

“Amethyst, this is serious. We don’t have much time”

“Okay fun police” Pearl pretended to not have heard that “Garnet told to tell you that she has sent some e-mails you need to read. It’s about some etiquette junk and some ‘diplomacy’ shi- stuff. You cannot be a total blank page when you come back”

This hit a nerve.

“So I have to bring my entire fricking life here too?” his voice started to amplify.

“No, no Steven” Pearl started.

“Tell Garnet I don’t want to read any of it. I’ll do that when I come home. Let me relax now”

“But-“

“Ok, good night” he chirped, though he looked pissed.

Once the screen turned black on the two women’s side, Pearl leaned onto Amethyst

“Oh Amethyst, I think we really upset him” her voice started to break and she slightly choked on her words.

“I think we did” she replied, as a matter-of-fact, attempting to console her by stroking her back.

“I thought we were making some progress with him but he always seems so downcast with us” tears started to flow down her pale cheeks.

“Chill P, this is Steven. He can’t stay mad at us for long. You love him and you believe in him, right?”

“I do”

“Then trust him. That dude’s been through a lot already. We’ll figure this out. We always do. _You_ always do”

Pearl chuckled a little, pulling Amethyst onto her lap such that they were facing each other. Amethyst softly kissed those tears, then smiling at her work

“That’s better. Now, I believe we have a few more minutes left” she said, and pressed her lips against hers before someone else could barge on them.

Steven rested her head against his pillow. He didn’t know or care where his father was for a moment, before snapping back and quickly sending him a text asking about his whereabouts. He let a single tear flow

He knew he shouldn’t be crying, he knew he shouldn’t be pitying himself, he knew he should be thankful for everything he has had that many didn’t, like a family, money and all. But it all feels so bad, it hurts. Why is he stuck as the crowned prince? Why is his heart stuck with a girl he could never get? He didn’t know.

Every other thought, like whether or not the Bijmuth he knew and Pearl described were the same, or how could he meet her without letting anyone know, ran around his head until he drifted off to an uneasy, dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya!!  
> I have been busy with online classess and homework and workout (honestly, it really hard to keep a routine, but I guess I'm getting that hang of it and enjoying it). Even at home I feel tired and really really miss my friends. But we've got to do our part and stay put so that it decreases in good time. 
> 
> How are you guys? I hope you and your loved ones are well and safe. And that you're keeping yourself occupied with productive stuff, like learning a new skill, watching a series etc. I'm rewatching SU and Avatar:TLA and catching all the theories and headcannons I possibly can like a lunatic. And lastly y'know that whole safety wash hands and wear face masks and hygeine routines? Yeah, DO THAT!
> 
> Home-made food and family board games keep me happy :)
> 
> Leave kudoa and comments if you liked it! I love hearing you're response :)


	8. A/N (Not a chapter)

Hey guys!!

So...this is just a small apology I have to make. I have been busy, online classes have been piling up like crazy, including the courses I have taken to support some of my interests; and honestly they exhaust me way too much for me to actually sit down and write anything at all. Plus, due to my screen exposure because of my studies, me eyes are now starting to ache.

But I don't know when or how I can continue this, writing is now a rather taxing job for me, being tired and engaged with either schoolwork or housework most of the time. I'm really sorry for this rant, but I wanted to put this out before anyone presumed I lost interest or something, because I'm still willing to do this. Just need a good patch of time to jot down everything. So even though I'm almost done with half of it, I don't know how much more time I need before I can do this as well as I want to.

I really want to thank everyone who's been supporting me and giving me their love!! Thank you so, so much

Quarantine really sucks, but its for the better! Hope you all are keeping yourself and your loved ones safe and sound in the midst of all this. COVID-19 had truly shook this world, and I'd hate if one of you lovely people get infected. But this is also a very good time to get in touch with your friends and learn all the things you could possibly want that you couldn't before. The pandemic is very mentally challenging I agree, so if you need a listening ear I'm always here.

Lotsa love

A_total_nerdy_clod

:D


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven talks with some new friends

It was confusing.

Wasn’t there a chance of rain today?

Huh, Steven thought, well, no one said weather had to be very predictable. No matter how developed our instruments of meteorology are, nature would always be- to a certain extent- a step ahead.

Weather was like people.

Connie was being that weather these last two weeks. Apart from the fact that Steven could not talk to her anytime, because gosh she was so invested in achieving her goals, she wouldn’t even look him in the eye. She wouldn’t even so much as to give a single longing glance towards him, as opposed to his million glances throughout the days. He would try tracking her, following her; anything to catch her attention and speak with her one more time, but the universe hated him. The few times their eyes did meet her eyes always showed a face of pure agony, angrily indicating him to stay away, like he was a predator going after her children. 

( _Why did she lead him on then, he thought more often)_

Paraido and Lajuli kept him company otherwise these days. He started spending time earliet so that they could help him, but even without those intentions they were a pleasurable company. They were fun people to be around, and dare he say they were the perfect couple. They worked so in sync with each other, knowing the other’s preferences better than their own. He easily latched onto the tiny glances, the blushes, the hand holdings. Steven knew what romantic gestures looked like and meant, he wasn’t blind to the overly frivolous gestures Ruby and Sapphire gave. (He was oblivious when it came to his own life, it seemed). Steven once asked casually-

“Do you love Lapis romantically?”

This seemed to catch her off-hand. She looked at indignantly, to which he apologised profusely. She turned her attention back to the road.

“Yes, I love her very much. Why did you ask?”

“You said you were never married”

“I did” her voice started going stern, but not noticeable enough.

“Are you of age?”

“Both in societal an legal ways”

“Then why don’t you marry each other?” he asked as if it was the most obvious thin in the world.

Paraido answered a curtly (and defiantly) as she could-

“Apart from a lack social acceptance,”

“That happens everywhere you two; they’re bound to be some jerks not accepting love”

“Ahem” Steven forgot that she was annoyed when anyone cut her off “Lajuli here does not want a permanent life anywhere. She wants to be with me, but as lovers who are free to go anywhere without signing anything to the government”

“Isn’t that odd and a bit flawed? You could both marry _and_ lead a hipster life if you do it right” he said, taking another swig of his tea.

“We aren’t exactly your ster-eo-typical (did I pronounce that right) couple. Lajuli wants us to have our way of being lovers. Although I do concur with you, it is odd, but for her sake I’m trying to keep up. And she promised for my sake, she will think about marriage in the future when needed. I’m not as old as you think I am Steven, we do have a lot of life left in our hands”

Steven thought rather deeply about this, before Lajuli suddenly splashed him with a bucket of water from behind and running away, leaving him no choice but to chase her with a bucket of his own.

(He wished he had too like them a lot of time to think rationally)

* * *

Connie Maheshwaran was losing her mind.

Heaps of books surrounded her already frustrated self, seeming more like a drug each day, A terrible dose to keep her out of reality. _Why_? Why did everything in her life have to happen at one go?

Why did Kumar have to come they same time Steven did? And why did he have to be so curt in his letters? It was almost as if she had no reason to hate him, yet also no reason to love him altogether. He was so formal, always addressed her with respect and quoted some lines of the poets she oh so loved. He was courteous when they did meet, always gave her space, and was overall a total gentleman- even in private. She was a developed lady, but his eyes never went the wrong direction, nor did he make lewd comments someone would if they knew they had complete power over another in every form.

(It would have been so much easier to hate him)

Not that she caught feelings for him, of course, for her heart was held firmly in the hands of a certain teenage tourist. It’s not like she loved admitting it. Well, a part of her did and wanted to just speak her heart out- to fall into his open and warm ( _so warm_ ) arms and pull him closer to her where he could feel her heart beating a thousand times a minute because he was the only person to make her do it in the most blissful way- but the more reasonable part warned her. The more you let him close the more it would hurt. The more it would agonize her, make her sadder than ever, considering the mere thought if it hadn’t already.

She knew he was trying to communicate. She wasn’t stupid. Waiting inside school building where any teacher could catch him for trespassing isn’t exactly a subtle hint. She had to build walls, and she built them as firm as she could at that moment. She built them using the rumbles of her previous hopes and dreams and tried maintaining a temporary one.

She looked at him with a stone hard gaze. Tried anything to make him feel that she didn’t want him. That she never wanted him in the first place, because that is so easier than letting them collapse and open her heart completely for him and in the end feeling a need to rebuild them again after he would shatter them unintentionally (for she would give only him the right to break them).

It felt unnatural, but she couldn’t help it.

It would have been so easier if both of them were horrible people. With big attitudes and bigger egos. Maybe then things would have more sense.

 _Why_? Why was it so easy to really really like Steven? (And so hard to hate Kumar?(but that somehow mattered less))

* * *

“Five days left” Lajuli said as she purchased a deck of cards to teach Steven some more card games when they would meet next morning.

“Huh?”

“Come on! For a guy who loves Kahani you’re have no clue”

Her grammar was a bit broken, but she got her point across

“I don’t…love her…per se…I just feel…um” he bashfully rubbed his neck

“Why the five days?” he asked, diverting the topic

“Oh, her exams finish, right?” she dragged him to a paan stall to buy some and eat.

“Wait, WHAT?” he looked surprised, and a bit hurt.

“Yeah, only two papers left, and then it’s over” she said nonchalantly.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

“I thought you already did knew” Lapis said, a bit a shock entering her voice

“No I didn’t. It’s not like I went into her room and checked her roster or something”

“Well, jud-ging by how you see her, I thought you already had seen it a long time ago. Paraido goes to her house every day and- eep!” she kept her hands on her mouth, and shook her head in embarrassment. Steven looked enraged

“And why didn’t she tell me this?”

“Shethoughtyoumighttrygoingwithherandyou’re herfavouritemalechildsoshethoughtshecouldn’tsayno” she said in a single breath.

“ _Why is everyone so hell bent on me not meeting her_?” he half screamed.

“Because” she started “we can’t see the poor girl give her life out for a stupid lovey dream. We all thought it was just fun and games until she started opening with us more. Steven, she cares for you more than she should to almost strangers. And never before have we seen her liking someone so willingly so quickly”

“Even Bijmuth told me this. Why do you think I am some person who likes breaking hearts for fun?” she questioned a bit more scolding.

“No one thinks that. And it won’t be your _fault_ , but it’s bound to happen. Maybe she knows it too, and if you get any closer to her both of you will regret it” she said sombrely.

Steven remained silent for a few moments. The marketplace for bright as ever, with the songs and the dance and the occasional gambling and the lively skit. This atmosphere did nothing to cheer him up then as it would have a few days ago.

“I thought you understood how I felt” he said.

“I do” she said, “and bhagwan knows how much I wants you to meet her. To keep your stomach full with all the little cute meetings you have. Just like Paraido and I once used to have when we were not involved” she gave a dreamy sigh, as if reminiscing on older times.

“But I’m not the smart one here, Paraido and Bijmuth are. I trust them to know more”

“But you do know more about the heart. You’re emotional, compassionate-“

“What does that meaning?”

“Compassionate means to be careful and loving with other and their emotions, and you obviously-”

“Steven! These things also need to be taken by the brains. You might not understand, you’re so small, but heart without a brain is foolish”

“And where is the ‘heart; in this huh? Tell me, by keeping us apart aren’t you completely choosing out my and her ‘foolish’ heart?”

“I-I-I-“

“Lajuli, she isn’t even looking at me. It’s already hard for me at home, people not looking at me because I’m…nevermind”

“Because you’re what?” she asked a tad desperately. (Was he some sort of criminal?)

“Nothing…” he mumbled

“I keep pretty good secrets” she winked at him.

He murmured ‘fine’ leaned into her ear and whispered

“ _I’m royalty_ ”

Lajuli gave a loud, sharp gasp, that didn’t fail to catch the attention of the passerby’s. Steven motioned frantically to keep it down

“That’s why I don’t tell anyone” he muttered.

“Sorry, it’s just hard to take” she said profusely.

“Lajuli you promised” he warned

“I did, sorry”

“It’s alright, but still! I want to meet her without any unnecessary barriers” he grumbled, kicking a pebble

Someone on their way ran up to them, screaming

“Crackers! Crackers for the festival! Get your high quality crackers here!” he spoke, in a loud booming voice.

“No thank you” Lajuli gently pushed him away, for their faces were too close for her comfort.

He proceeded to give an indifferent shrug and moved on to his next target

“A festival?” Steven asked lackadaisically.

“Yeah, there’s one every year near Diwali”

“Oh, the one which is celebrated because this guy called Rama came from exile after…..fifteen years?”

“Fourteen years, but yes, that one. The whole area comes to the fesival. It’s big and crowded with free food and drinks and music and dance. Well, not entirely free, but they certainly charge us less for what they are worth. You have to pay for the alcohol, though”

“I don’t drink yet” he said innocently

“Hm…anyways, the fireworks are amazing! Last year Kahani and I decided to-“

“Wait, what did you say?”

“Last year, Kahani and I-“

“Stop, you said the whole area comes there right?”

“Yes…”

“And Kahani must come there too…”

“Yes….” She said, a bit clueless. She nodded her head, but looked as if she was trying really hard to figure out the context.

“You didn’t get it, right?”

“No” she said, albeit with faux pride.

“If she comes and I come too then….?” She tried again.

After a few more moments of intense think, she finally latched on

“Oh, _oh_ **OH**!! YOU and her-her and you- you both and you both…” she rambled excitedly, jumping a bit too cheerfully on the spot and waving her hands everywhere.

“Yes! I can meet her!”

“And then tell her what you feel before you go back in two weeks!”

“Thanks for reminding me” he said sarcastically, but a grin was still plastered on his face. To think he could relish her feels once more…it made him all giddy, as if he had just had the most amazing adrenaline rush of his life.

“Wait-“ she halted her little joyful dance “What after that?”

“Huh?”

“What after the festival? What are you going to tell her, how will you tell her, what promises will you make?”

“I-“ he started confidently, by that deflated the moment he began racking his brains “I- don’t know” he said sheepishly.

“You’re royalty, I’m sure you can like _pay_ some people to think that for you” she joked and blew a raspberry.

“Lajuli….”

“I’m just joking, relax”

“Seriously, Paraido told me you weren’t that good in English, but you are” he said and meant it, even thought her accent was weird for him.

“I had to ab-sor-b something from that _padhaku_ ” she giggled.

“Huh” he chuckled too.

“Anyways, goodbye Steven. Good luck! Or you always have that money…Namaste!” she chided and ran off to her house.

“I always have that money…” he muttered again, and his mind automatically went down memory lane

_‘Oh Steven, I always wanted to be an ambassador, or an astronaut! Have you heard about these great women in Aerouatics?”_

_“I sometimes wish to just escape, to run far away as I could”_

_“You know what, I think I do believe in love. Just a little”_

_“Just a little…just a little”_

Brown fingers, warm hands, caramel eyes, onyx hair.

It was all he wanted then. Sometimes, he would too want her to take her out of her misery, to make her live life independently, like she has always deserved

_“Always have that money….”_

He stopped dead in his tracks, and began wondering. Intense, loud wondering. The kind of thinking that make creases on your forehead and scrunch your nose.

 ** _He had it_**.

He had the perfect plan!

He, in a mad spree ran towards the inn, calling Amethyst on the way

“Hey Amethyst? Listen, please get Pearl and call me on FaceTube in ten minutes. I have a few royal favours to ask…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> Feels good to write again.  
> A lot of stuff had been happening lately, and due to this I almost lost the will to write this. I'm glad I took that breather! I certainly do hope things get better for me to finish this story!  
> A little Lapidot to do justice to the tag!  
> Thanks for all the love you've been giving me. They helped me come back  
> Hope you enjoyed this!!  
> PS- padhaku means a nerd


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some firsts ensue, and also, warning for a lot of stuff

Kahani Maheshwaran was finally done with her exams.

It was a long, tiring period of studies and thoughts of internal bashing and cramming and students throwing paper balls on her to catch her attention for asking the answer, but she was finally through with it.

What was better was that the festive season was going on.

Connie loved festivals. They were her favourite part of the year for several reasons. First one being sweets. Connie loved the hard work put into making these sugary delicacies throughout the market and even her house, licking the syrup off her thumb for a five year old, then grabbing a glass full of the freshest juice to wash it all off. Along with those sweets came other savoury delicacies as well, some fried, some light, some crunchy, some soft. All were made fresh and she was always ready to devour them before this all ended and five days old stale food is back in business.

Another reason was the people. The people were uncharacteristically nicer, and even though she knew it was to ‘invoke the almighty’s blessings’ and whatnot. But still, she would love for them to address her as ‘ _pyaari_ Kahani’ instead of their usual ignorance. Some people who were already nice were cheerful, their mood being contagious to her usual stress to succeed and making her just…feel the joy that can only come with celebrating something that had happened thousands of years ago.

There were several more reasons for her to love these cultural beauties, but it would take her more time than she has to list them.

The festivities were about to start! And she can’t wait to go to the fair where everyone will be present. All the people would be there, so that means a full evening with the handful of acquaintances she has from school and Paraido, Lajuli and Bijmuth, without any curfew or disruptions. She doesn’t really dance there, for she is not fond of doing that in public, but looks at other people and hum the tunes along.

Nothing, not even the arrival of Kumar or thought of Steven possible hating her could stop her from enjoying this... (She really has to rethink the Steven part, though, but she will make sure to try for it not to affect her)

* * *

“Steven are you sure about this? Isn’t this a bit…over the top?”

“No, we’re not even that popular for it to cost a lot”

“Pretending I don’t take offence to that, Steven, you might have to wait for-”

“It’s not like I am going to tie her in chains and kidnap her” he said exasperatedly

“Steven…” he could hear her rubbing her temples.

“Just give me a chance…please?”

“Okay, but-“

“Thank you Pearl!”

“You’re welc- Amethyst! That better not be something you broke” Pearl huffed in annoyance and cut the call.

* * *

****

**“Paraido, should I really be doing this?”** she asked, completely irked by the situation. It’s not like she didn’t want to go there, but usually she never put thought into her clothing. She wore whatever she thought was presentable and comfortable.

** “Of course Kahani, it’s a festival! And this year, we have decided to finally take some action and fix that horrible dressing sense of yours” **

** “How much did Lajuli pay you to do this?” **

**“Do you really want to know in what manner did she decide to pay me?** ” she smirked a bit

 **“No thank you** ” she said shyly and succinctly. These two were too much sometimes.

** “So better get to work, beautiful” **

**“I hate you Paraido** ” she said as she walked out to give her space to change

“ **It’s not like I like you too, Kahani** ” she closed the door, smugly feeling proud of herself.

* * *

Steven almost felt lost in the crowd of the myriad of people. The population of whole fricking Crystalline was probably half of what was there. Still, no one seemed to bother. It was an occasion of happiness, like Christmas, so putting their pride aside people gathered together to celebrate what being a human is all about! There was energetic music, highly choreographed dances by many ladies, drunken uncles cracking jokes, children stuffing their faces with food with their eyes lit up by all the simple pleasures of life. A person on the pseudo-stage would come up once in a while and crack jokes; or announce a song to be played for a special someone, or were singing themselves. It was an exhilarating experience for him, and he was showered with love by many citizens he didn’t even know of. It was warm, it felt nice. And look, there goes-

“Connie?” Steven suddenly halted. His mouth was left agape, his fingers covering his mouth.

She looked incredible.

Her hair was drawn in a braid, flowers etched in those long locks of the dark beauty of her hair. Her dress was simple, elegant, but she carried it with a grace of a queen. Well, for a few seconds, at least, before she tripped down and a hand helped her up. She smiled politely and he could see her lips saying ‘Thank You’.

The light reflected off her sleek hair, he could hear her ornaments tinkling even at a far distance. She was just too near, yet too far. He just had to walk five steps, call out her name, and….

But he probably didn’t need that. Connie noticed him, noticed his taut muscles and unruly curly hair and dazzling smile and slightly tanned skin. It was all too much for her to handle, but she knew stepping away would only make way for giving more explanations once he eventually catches her. He was a very persistent boy, from what she knows.

She wished a person or two on her way to him, and acting completely natural (like she didn’t wait all that while to see him) spoke “Steven? Why aren’t you going there, there’s tons of snacks, even your favourite-“

“Connie, can I please talk to you”

“Well, we are producing voices in coherent words and sentences, so-“

“Alone? Please?”

Connie finally gave into her tempt “Fine, but you have to stay two feet behind me, we can’t let anyone see you following me” And she started leading the way.

They were once again left in a secluded area. Somewhere in the corner they could hear giggling of another couple, but they shrugged it off.

“So, what do you want to say?” she asked, crossing her arms and looking at her feet, which were currently drawing circles on the sand.

“Why are you avoiding me?” he spoke. Darn it, he thought, you were supposed to take it subtly.

“I am not. If I were then I wouldn’t be talking to you here”

“Is this conversation out of pity, then?” he asked, nostrils flaring. His emotions were a wild mess.

“No, it is out of a want to talk, but I guess all you want to do is get angry at me right now” she shoved him slightly.

“You are the one getting angry!” He argued

“Do you seriously want this conversation to go on like this? Because I don’t have the time…” she said maddening already.

“Okay okay, I’m sorry” then he turned silent, for the latter gave no indication of accepting his apology.

“Why are you doing this” Connie suddenly asked, quietly.

“Wh- what?”

“Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to come in my life so often? Why did you come home that day and later that night and then outside school? Why did you protect me that day? Why are you…ugh I don’t even know what to say. I have a lot of questions but no context” she murmured, asking more to herself than him.

“I already told you” Steven answered, almost reaching his hand out to touch hers, but resisting. She remembered exactly what he had said.

Again a silence came. This was new. This was uncharted. A subtle repression of feelings that could not be visible in anywhere but their eyes.

“You look fairly good” Connie spoke, breaking the tension.

“Thanks! It took me a while to pick it out” he rubbed his hand behind his head

“Looks expensive, even. Where are you even from, anyways?” She asked, to lighten her mood.

His heart on the contrary, sunk.

It took a few nervous stammers and awkward noises for her to question it again, and when she stopped asking him, he decided-

He was going to tell her everything.

She was so generous, so full of understanding. She never judged, nor did she ever taunt him for his insecurities.

“I am from Crystalline” he finally said.

“Crystalline…never heard of that before. Which country is it in?”

“Um…it’s not entirely a country, but it’s not a country either”

“Then, what is it?” she asked, intrigued.

“A kingdom”

Connie’s eyes widened, then she blinked in disbelief “Do princely states even exist nowadays?” she mused.

“I don’t know about the rest of the world, but they sure do there…”

“So, are there more?”

“Three more, each belonging to the lineage of the Diamonds”

“Wow, that’s a pretty cool name”

“Well, my mom was one of them” he furthered sheepishly, not knowing if he wanted her to take the hint there.

“That sounds awesome. I think she might have been a great leader…” she said well-naturedly, finally making eye contact. She looked away, thinking ‘Wow, his mother is literally royalty’ when it all hit her.

“Wait, if your mother was a queen then-“

“Yes, but can you please not say what you might be assuming” he requested politely.

She squeezed his shoulders, “Anything you want”

( _He wished her words meant more, for he sure does wish a lot)_

“So yeah, that’s kinda the reason I stumbled across here. This place sounded wonderful in the brochures and websites I went across”

“You’re saying as if you were let down” she chuckled, nudging him playfully

“No, I got so much more” he said with a gaze so intense, she shied away. She did not want to get her hopes up, though.

“You feel uncomfortable” she suddenly noticed. He was a bit shaky, squirmy, really fidgety with his fingers and kept swinging his head, as if washing something off.

“It’s just, there are some bad memories of that place, that’s all” he said with indifference, though a sob was clumped in his throat, and Connie knew those voices too well to address it.

“It sounds a bit serious, Steven” she held his hand again. While she hoped they could hold hands in a better, ( ~~more romantic~~ ) and more….comfortable environment, this felt incredibly soothing too. To help a person, especially someone like him, it warmed her heart too.

“The stuff happening to me since childhood, it all just, adding up, that’s all” he said as bravely as he could again.

“That not all Steven. You can’t ignore it” she affirmed

“Well, there is a big war about to start ‘cause of my mom, and I mostly have to deal with her repercussions, including this stupid battle” he said loudly, and went a marvellously huge rant.

His spilled out a lot cooped up in him. He felt strangely exhilarated and funny and weird and scared but it felt, okay. And Connie held his hand throughout it all. He kept a relatively huge chunk of information in him, for that would need a lot more explaining for her to understand, and maybe she knew it too, but she didn’t press for anything.

A few people stared at them. They both looked at them back with a stern gaze, shooing them away.

“Steven, do you need help?” she asked “Be truthful to yourself”

“Maybe… I don’t wanna talk about it” he muttered

“This is an inevitable conversation, Steven” she said “You can go outside for breaks or vacations, not to an escape for your problems”

“Can you please halt the lecturing?” he pleaded.

“Not until you do a simple instruction” she said

He grumbled and muttered some incomprehensible things, and peered at her ever so slightly. She had a look that was dead straight, ordering him

“Fine, I’ll do it”

“Take out your cellular phone”

He did it as obediently as a circus animal

“Now open the one where you text people”

He followed her again

“Now, write them that you need to talk to them when you…” she trailed off.

“Yeah,” he completed. It was a touchy subject, the prospect of separation.

“I’ll, just do that” he chuckled bashfully, slowly hitting the letter. It took it all and far too long for him to even press those digital buttons; but Connie was patiently gazing at him. Their hands were still intertwined.

“There” he said, after hearing the satisfying sound of the sent message “I did it”

“Good. Just for the record, I think you will be a wonderful…leader” she said almost too proudly. Steven didn’t seem affected by her words, just gave a weary smile. She halted; she need not interfere in his life more than she did, she thought.

The songs earlier during were all fast and groovy and energizing. The kind of music that would make you fling your arms in the air and jump and swing your hips and move your body and scream the lyrics at the top of your lungs with your best bud. The background beats of the entirety of their conversation had such a similar feel to them, it almost made them jump with the song suddenly took on a slower pace.

Steven suddenly realised that he had been talking about everything but the thing he came there today for, he stood up. He tucked in something in his pocket, and reached out a hand

“Ka-ho-nee,” Connie gave a fond giggle at his attempt

“Yes, Ste-wann” she mocked back

“Hey! At least I tried!” he sniggered

“Okay, what is it Mister?” she swung on over so that her face was towards him, but she didn’t stand.

“May I have this dance?”

Connie was taken aback. No one ever asked her to dance before. Well, no one ever danced in her area publically, but she would often hear her peers titter about secret rendezvous behind old buildings or behind the school during the P.E. lesson. Even still, she was fairly certain of what dance he wanted to dance. A hand on the hip, one on the shoulder, fingers intertwined the whole deal (at least from what she gathered). She gave a nervous giggle

“St-Steven…that’s, nice of you to ask me that, but…”

“But what?” His hand never reconciled.

“I never danced like the one you are asking me to”

“I can teach you, and if you won’t like it, we’ll dance some other way” he gave a reassuring smile

“O-okay, I guess…but not here” she looked around frantically, Shit, did anyone see her as of yet? She prayed not

“Where else? Lead the way, lady” he gave a chivalrous bow.

“Such good manners!” she chided, and beckoned him to follow.

Connie led him to an area which was even more deserted than the one before, yet was penetrable to the sounds by the whole gala. She pulled her close, and kept a firm hand to her waist. She looked into his eyes. They held a very ardent look, almost giddy and yet, grounded. Everything they were doing now was a contradiction. Feeling ecstatic yet downcast, feeling hopeful yet no so, feeling enough to launch into the sky and yet wanting to stay there and then, time stopping. It was a juxtapose of many emotions that come with young love, it made their heads light.

Connie and Steven glided through the soil in a sprightly dance, Connie occasionally tripping on the older boy’s foot, with always brought about giggles of amusement and playful shoves. Still the dance was simple and plain, bodies moving with each other on a faint beat. Steven started

“You look…different” ( _Wow_ , he thought sarcastically)

“Good different, or bad different?” she asked, raising an eyebrow and smirking

“The good-est different there is”

Connie rolled her eyes playfully at the grammar “I hoped so, too. Paraido really wanted me to fit in this thing. It’s sometimes hard to move in it”

“I love the look of it, though. It suits you”

“Thank you”

“Also the jewellery and all” he added. She suddenly lifted the skirt a bit, just to show her ankle. He could see the anklet he bought for her. _Did this mean something?_

“That’s nice of you to notice. Also, even though I might have said it earlier, you too look dashing in that sherwani”

“Is that what it is called? Woah! But I like _do_ the look of it”

“It suits you great too”

Steven blushed deeply at that

“You know Connie, you’re absolutely wonderful” he started again, just as the song changed. The genre was same, so nothing was too contrasting

“Why?” she whispered, now lacing their fingers together. It felt nice to be this forward with him again

“You just…are. You have been through so much, are going through a lot, and you still heard me today. Made time for me earlier. You have so much love to go around, even though you may not show it sometimes” she said with a dreamy gaze and a sultry voice.

“Steven, just because our problems are different doesn’t mean yours is less important”

“My point exactly” he said, giving one of his signature charming smiles that melted her heart embarrassingly so,

“Wow…” Connie said, turning red and feeling so much of that giddy feeling, enough to fill her up and ooze out “No one has thought of me in that way much” she muttered back.

“That’s a shame. You are truly extraordinary Connie” she brought her even closer so.

“I had so much fun with you, Steven” Connie said, now burying her face in his shoulder, inhaling his scent. Rose shampoo, men’s perfume and petrichor.

“I did too” he said. And then he sucked in a breath. He was going to do this, he was going to take the plunge today.

 _Stars_ , he prayed, _help me out here._

“Connie, I really wanna say something to you” he said almost rushed, but luckily (or unluckily), she caught it.

“What is it, Steven?” she asked, a tad impatiently. She couldn’t help but wonder. What could a person possibly ask in the midst of the deserted forest with romantic music playing and the said person asking her to dance and being so close to her face ohmygod! She really hoped, really really hoped it was what she think it was;

Because the consequences could wait later. Consequences could wait when they go back to the crowded area again and have to depart because no one could know they interact with each other with a default passion and air of flirtation. Consequences could wait when she goes home and locks up in her room again with her parents reminding her of her forced engagement to a not half bad man but with no full consent from her side. Consequences could wait the day Steven tells her he is leaving and the space where he stood be filled with dust to mock her how their paths may never cross each other’s again.

“I-I-I-I-I-I-“Steven went on a stuttering trail.

“You-you-you what?” Connie said playfully, just to a bit relieve the thick tension

“I really like you” he whispered, like he was telling the world’s most heartfelt secret.

Connie asked again “How much exactly?”

“More than I probably should, but not enough because you deserve so much more” he whispered passionately. His heart was swollen at how flustered she was, curling and uncurling her hands on his chest, which he only now noticed were there since a while.

“Steven, please don’t be ridiculous” she stammered in disbelief and plea, looking at him with the same expression “You know this is not true, I mean, I am just a-“

He silenced her with his lips.

They were warm and soft and caressing. Connie found this whole thing weird, but soon grew accustomed to the amount of passion it held. What was she supposed to do know? How does one go about it?

Soon she threw caution in the air and acted upon instinct. She pulled him closer and wrapped her slender arms around his broad shoulder, giving a hum of content. He gripped her, albeit softly at her waist, where her belly was bare on her otherwise covered abdomen. Her skin felt warm and electrifying, probably because that part just woke up at his touch.

God, was it even possible for nerve endings to be this hyper?

Connie pulled away, giggling adorably “Your hands are freezing”

Steven was worried for a split second, wondering if he had gone too far. He gave a sigh of relief at her discovery.

“They never usually are” he pondered in confusion, looking at his hands, but laughed with her.

The giggles died soon. The atmosphere was heavy again. The desires rushed back.

Connie was the one to initiate the kiss this time.

It was fairly okay on her part, though Steven could feel her nervousness. Truth be told, even Steven was not that rehearsed in kissing, but for him it was always more about the feel than the technique. He held her tightly again (keeping his hands away from her smooth skin) and deepened it. He pulled the rubber band off her braid, opening it as the flowers fell down one after one, weaving his fingers in her now open hair. It felt extremely intimate for the both of them. Connie then relaxed and almost slumped onto him by how dizzy it made her head.

It was a formidable sight. A soft ballad in the background, the sounds of nature, the crescent moon shining above, the stars twinkling, and two young lovers enjoying how it feels to be this innocent about something so complex.

Connie was the first one to break the kiss due to a need for air. Steven also panted slightly, but never took her out of his arms. He leaned in again, lips almost brushing, and muttered

“You made me deal with my stuff, but what about your troubles?”

Connie was too blissful to even think about it much or be offended about him breaking such a tender moment with a serious topic

“I’ll be alright, don’t worry” she smiled.

“But I want to help”

“Steven, I really appreciate it, but-“

Steven whispered quietly once again

“ _Connie, come back to Crystalline with me…”_

(Meanwhile, in the back, somewhere near, a pair of eyes could be distinctly seen, peering at two teenagers carefully.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuck it I finally got some time.  
> I sure do like self indulgent stuff, and writing scenes like such although are not my style, sure do make my day. It feels good to try new stuff, and a romance is far out of my league so I hope I did well enough!  
> Well, the newer chapters are going to be inconsistent, but not many are left...that's all I can say. I'm going through some stuff so this is an escape from everything, and I'm glad I did it all now!  
> Thanks you all for reading and the love!  
> Also, please do comment on how you like the story and give kudos!  
> Lotsa love and hope you stay safe during all the shit going on in 2020  
> <3

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!  
> Just a side yet very crucial note  
> THIS FIC IS NOT DIRECTED TO CRITICIZE ANY CULTURES AND/OR NATIONALITY.  
> I know I might be treading on dangerous waters here but I couldn't resist when this idea popped in my head during my exams and I almost thought I would write this instead of biology. Finally had the time, so ta da!  
> So yeah, take this positively, I'll try being as genuine as possible but please don't get offended if I get any ritual of cultural fact wrong (although I have done full research on these things, and I'm pretty sure this will work)  
> And lastly, I have not read many (not even 20) connverse fics so if this idea's already been done or if its similar to some wonderful one down there please I'll assure you this is completely co-incidental and this is an original idea.


End file.
